For the third consecutive year, eight philanthropic organisations will gather under the Regional Climate Foundations (RCF) banner at a Climate Change Conference. COP30, scheduled for November in Belém do Pará, Brazil, will again host the RCF pavilion within its Blue Zone. In 2025, the main theme of the area will be ‘Turning collaboration into action’, highlighting the purpose of being a shared space that creates solutions collectively, rooted in local realities and aligned with global ambitions.
“The Regional Climate Foundations pavilion is a showcase where we share and learn from each other about the best experiences being carried out in our countries”, summarizes the executive director from Climate Initiative of Mexico (ICM), Adrián Fernández. “There are many good things happening, some more standard and practical; others are true innovations in policy or economic instruments”, exemplifies.
Unlike other pavilions at COP30, which might focus on specific subjects or represent a single country, the RCF pavilion is designed as a global showcase for the best climate solutions being implemented across various regions. Organisations from four continents are involved — a cross-regional approach that encourages a rich exchange of ideas and lessons learned from diverse contexts, both from global south and north.
In 2025, the objective to offer a panoramic view on solutions already tested and that can be scaled to help solve the climate crisis gains more importance, as the COP30 Brazilian presidency is presenting this edition of the climate conference as the “COP of implementation”. The COP30 presidency has emphasised the need for solutions based on scalable local experiences and a sense of urgency.
“It will be a place where people can hear concrete proposals on how we can boost investment in the bioeconomy and create value for standing forests, with returns for indigenous peoples and local populations. Or to discuss innovative mechanisms to forgive debt and improve the fiscal stress of very poor countries so that they can respond to the climate crisis”, says Maria Netto, the executive director of Institute for Climate & Society (iCS), from Brazil.
Different formats for a range of audience
The RCF will feature lectures, debates, and cultural activities designed to foster interregional exchange and the search for solutions to the climate crisis. The open call for events concluded on September 5th, receiving more than 145 applications from organisations and partners worldwide. The selected applications will be released by the end of September.
“We encouraged all applicants to use creativity to develop the format of the events. We aim to promote a pavilion that offers diverse formats for multi-stakeholder conversations, including workshops, TEDx-style presentations, and cultural performances”, explains Eduardo Carvalho, the curator of the Regional Climate Foundations pavilion. The presidency of COP30 chose culture as a platform to engage different stakeholders.
Under the umbrella of the general subject of the pavilion, organisations called for proposals that also addressed themes such as the necessary evolution of the Paris Agreement (Belém+10), how to promote green investments through global collaboration, as well as agendas like just energy transition and adaptation.
“By promoting collaboration, transparency, and mutual support, the RCF contributes to building a more effective, scalable, and people-centred climate agenda — one that delivers lasting impact and leaves no one behind”, expresses the organisers.
“The RCF Pavilion creates a space where actors from different regions can present a united voice, highlighting how locally grounded action drives global climate progress”, states the European Climate Foundation. “It fosters exchange between regions that might not otherwise intersect, allowing us to share successful models, build partnerships, and demonstrate the role of philanthropy as a catalyst for scalable climate solutions”, concludes.
Country platforms and subnational actors
Two examples of RCF contributions to the climate discussions are the promotion of the Country Platforms agenda and the role of subnational actors. These two aspects were highlighted by the pavilion schedule during COP29 and will be in the spotlight again.
In 2024, Brazil presented its Climate and Ecological Transformation Investment Platform (BIP) in the RCF pavilion. It is a sort of portfolio of projects that help the country to meet its climate targets, but needs financial support. Country platforms can guide climate investments aligned with the NDCs.
“It is a portfolio of large-scale initiatives that touch on one central point: financing”, details Adrián Fernández, from ICM. “Today, there are no longer significant technical, engineering, or economic analysis difficulties in identifying the main points for emissions mitigation. But the main bottleneck for these initiatives is the design of financing sources”, he completes, who announced that Mexico partners will focus on this example to push for more Country Platforms launched during COP30.
And, in a moment of multilateral crisis caused by conflicts — wars, commercial threats or national demobilization, as announced by the United States regarding the Paris Agreement — the role of subnational actors is even more important. Last year, a debate at RCF pavilion featuring local female leaders from South Korea, Nigeria, and Brazil, attracted so much attention that the audience also included local leaders from Australia and Argentina.
“Subnational climate actions is an important pillar to ViriyaENB. We hope to gain valuable insights into strategies and learnings to take back home to further strengthen the subnational programmes”, states the regional climate foundation from Indonesia.
A place for meetings and new contacts
Equipped with an auditorium and a private meeting room, the Regional Climate Foundations pavilion is also a place for meeting new actors and partners. This was ViriyaENB experience in 2024, that debuted in the pavilion at COP29: “It was the first time ViriyaENB actively contribute to the RCF pavilion, and it was a great platform to meet with many people and bodies across the world”, states Viriya, which also signed a formal partnership with a new partner a few months after first meeting at RCF pavilion.
In 2025, besides Viriya, the Institute for Climate & Society and the Climate Initiative of Mexico, the group’s members include the African Climate Foundation, the European Climate Foundation, Energy Foundation China, Tara Climate Foundation, which operates in Asia, and the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation from India. As philanthropic foundations, they work by providing grants to other organisations and building strong civil society networks in the areas where they operate. Some of these grantees will be speakers at the pavilion.