COP30 is around the corner and the world’s climate leaders — and sceptics — are heading to Brazil. Among them will be Portuguese MEP Lídia Pereira, leading the European Parliament’s delegation for the second consecutive year.
As a vice-president of the European Parliament’s centre-right EPP group and a member of the institution’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), Pereira brings a business-focused perspective to climate affairs. But even the word climate, she argues, has become a stumbling block for Europe’s policymakers.
“It's always climate or climate crisis and I think these words scare people off,” she told The Parliament. Instead, the MEP prefers to speak about environment and sustainability — words which are broader, more forward-looking and less polarising.
This broader framing is reflected in the delegation itself. MEPs heading to COP30 will represent 16 of the EP’s committees through full or substitute membership.
“It is valuable because then it's not only ENVI [the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety, where Pereira also serves as a substitute] colleagues,” she said. “They can witness with their own eyes how important politically it is.”
Lessons from COP29
At last year’s COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, Pereira and her cross-party colleagues worked to ensure the Parliament’s participation was more than just a box-ticking exercise. A debate on the conference’s outcomes in Strasbourg was both a way to feedback to fellow legislators and a chance to formalise the EU’s participation.
The COP29 conference itself was complicated. The US was in a period of transition from a climate-engaged Biden presidency to a Trump administration calling it “a con job.” The country subsequentially withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement and, according to Pereira, the void left, weakened the summit outcomes.
Still, one positive for Pereira was the recognition of the EU’s important role in green politics. “It was really relevant to see so many countries in the world asking to meet us and to convey the message that we look at Europe as a reference… If Europe slows down, it will have implications for these countries,” she said.
Recognition of the Parliament’s project from other countries reaffirms the bloc’s position as a climate leader. But with great power comes great responsibility, and wavering climate commitments could impact the EU’s image.
“We are seen as a reliable partner and that's of a great value in terms of diplomacy and positioning in the world,” said Pereira.
This increased global importance of Europe is a source of optimism for Pereira, something she plans to take to COP30.
“I'm optimistic because in every COP that I have attended — and all the others that I have not — there has always been progress and I think it's not to be underestimated,” she said.
Learning from China, filling the US climate gap
At COP, Europe not only serves as a source of inspiration — it also seeks inspiration. With the US missing from the stage last year, one player seized the chance to fill the gap: China.
China has been forced to invest in electrification and new clean technologies as it, like Europe, does not possess a wealth of natural resources. For Pereira, the country can serve as an example for Europe in some ways.
“The way Europe has to deal with this is to stay the course, because it is possible to decarbonise our economy, our societies and at the same time achieve economic growth,” she said. “But obviously certain things have to change, and so that's why competitiveness is such an important word. It's no longer a buzzword.”
But Pereira also warns of overreliance on China, which could see the EU repeat previous mistakes of overdependence on unstable foreign powers. While the country has made sweeping changes to how it produces energy due to its lack of natural resources, it has been reluctant to publicise its clean energy transition and support others in a strong and open way.
“China has today a much bigger responsibility and cannot just hide in their label of developing country because the numbers do not match that,” Pereira said.
Climate ambition endures despite shifting priorities
Back in Europe, Pereira was the sole Portuguese MEP to be re-elected in 2024. She is well positioned to provide a temperature check on the EU’s green feel. On the whole, she remains optimistic.
“There was a lot of work done during the previous term and that is now being implemented. So, it is normal that we don't have the same rhythm in terms of climate legislation,” said Pereira.
Green Deal legislation was voted through in the last mandate, but much of it is in the process of being simplified, with the European Commission due to publish an ‘omnibus’ proposal that cuts red tape and increases competitiveness. Despite this push for simplified regulation, Pereira says climate neutrality remains the end goal.
“Politicians live in very short cycles and when we discuss things such as decarbonisation or European policies at large, they are not for tomorrow: they are for a longer-term view,” she said.
It is natural, therefore, that other topics now draw some of the attention once devoted to the Green Deal. Defence and simplification are currently the beneficiaries, driven by war in Europe and struggling industries, but as circumstances change, so will the focus.
The private sector, too, is committed to the Green Deal. A consortium of agri-food businesses, including Nestlé, Ferrero and Mars, recently penned a letter to Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, urging her not to delay the body’s anti-deforestation laws a second time. To Pereira, such industry commitment deserves recognition.
“I don't see one company — I meet with a lot of them — questioning that we should go back to fossil fuels. We have to make sure that we keep support for SMEs and European companies that know that this is the way that we can prosper,” she said.
Framing the Green Deal’s next chapter
As other priorities push their way onto Europe’s agenda, Pereira acknowledges that the Green Deal faces challenges — and some of them lie in how the project is presented. “The expression Green Deal was a little bit unfortunate, because it was basically imported from the US. We could have been more creative,” said Pereira.
For her, the problem isn’t a waning of ambition but how Europe frames its ambitions and presents them to the public. “I don't think there's less ambition, I just think that there's a different approach,” she said.
In other words, labels shape expectations. The Green Deal’s branding — while useful at launch — may now obscure the scale and complexity of Europe's climate transition, reducing it to a political slogan rather than a long-term economic and societal shift.
But beneath the Brussels jargon, Pereira insists that Europe’s direction remains steady. “Europe continues to be the best continent to live in the world, and that's why people still look for shelter here,” she said.
For all its flaws, the EU’s climate project is still driven by the belief that ideas can be translated into action. As COP30 approaches, it’s a reminder that language matters but credibility is ultimately built on delivery.
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