The Sink or Swim Project

I am off to the Amazon Delta — the gateway to the Amazon rainforest — to visit Belém, Brazil, for the United Nations’ Conference of the Parties (COP30) meetings today. I can already feel the humid air of the rainforest, hear its deep green pulse, envision the river’s sinew winding through the Amazon, hear the song of frogs, and see the hush of timber-giants overhead. This will be my first time in Brazil, but more than that, my first time in the Amazon region itself: a place of both immense life and immense risk. Unlike previous UN COP events I’ve attended, I step into Belém not just as a delegate but as a witness, to the Amazon forest, yes, but also to the immense potential that forests, wetlands, oceans, and coastal communities around the world hold in this fight to fix our climate.

My time in Belem will be working as a lawyer and designated delegate for the Republic of Palau, a small island nation standing at the front lines of the climate crisis. For Palau, as is the reality here in South Florida, rising seas are not a future projection; they are already reshaping lives. As I work to help them in Belém, I plan to carry with me the voices of communities whose reefs are salt-etched, whose coastline is eaten by tides, and whose children rightfully ask what their future holds. When we talk about climate change, the headlines often center on vast continents or major pollution emitters like America’s oil companies, but for Palau and other small island states, the story is one of urgency, justice, and survival.

Palau, a pristine archipelago of approximately 340 islands scattered across the western Pacific Ocean, is a nation of breathtaking beauty known for its vibrant coral reefs, turquoise lagoons, and deep cultural ties to the ocean, but also of extraordinary vulnerability. Science tells us that sea levels around Palau are rising at nearly twice the global average, threatening low-lying coastal villages and vital infrastructure.

Ocean warming has already disrupted the island’s delicate balance of marine biodiversity, home to more than 1,300 species of fish and 700 species of coral, while intensifying storms and shifting rainfall patterns place further strain on freshwater supplies and agriculture. For Palau, climate change is not abstract science; it is a lived reality, measured in saltwater intrusion, eroding shorelines, and the fading colors of once-flourishing coral gardens.

“The failure to limit global heating to 1.5 °C is a moral failure and deadly negligence. Every fraction of a degree means more hunger, displacement, and loss – especially for those least responsible.”
Antonia Guterres, UN Secretary General

COP30 Goals & Opportunities

Dedicated readers might recall my post over this past summer, Delay, Denial & Disturbing Developments in Bonn, following the three weeks I spent in Germany as a delegate for another Small Island Developing State, in that case, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). That annual meeting of the Subsidiary Bodies of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change serves to advance the nuts-and-bolts details of the issues that the UN and the world’s nations are trying to address during the COP events, such as those happening this week in Brazil.

In that post, I outlined a variety of concerns that I witnessed in Bonn to the world making substantive progress on addressing our climate crisis, including:

1) The United States was NOWHERE to be found,

2) Wealthy, oil-rich nations repeatedly blocked progress,

3) There was little consensus on an agenda with over 50 topics and, perhaps most disturbing to me,

4) There were obvious attempts by the world’s oil- and gas-producing nations to sideline scientific facts and findings about the damage fossil fuels are having on our planet.

Will these same impediments to progress still be present in Brazil? Brazil’s President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has said COP30 should be the “COP of Truth” and that “now is the time to take seriously the warnings of science.” I could not agree more, and will be fascinated to witness whether the world decides to take a step towards solutions or allows wealthy oil-rich nations and the fossil fuel-producing polluters to limit our progress in the Amazon.

As we begin our work this week, I am going to hope that progress is made and, with this in mind, offer a few key issues that I believe will dominate COP30:

1. Emissions & Mitigation

Over the summer, I also authored a post about why keeping temperatures within 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels is critical to our planet and each other. The target of limiting warming to 1.5°C remains central to any progress in fixing our climate, so reducing fossil fuel dependence, accelerating renewable energy deployment, and closing the gap between what the nations of the world pledge and the actual progress they are making are critical to our success in Belém.

2. Adaptation & Resilience

For Palau and many others, the question is: how do we adapt to the damage fossil fuel use over the last 100 or so years has caused? That means resilient infrastructure, coastal protection, mangrove restoration, and improved early warning systems. Adaptation cannot be an afterthought.

3. Nature-based Solutions & The Amazon

Having this conference in Belém, on the edge of the Amazon, is symbolic and vital. The Amazon is one of the planet’s lungs, a biodiversity powerhouse, a carbon sink. Protecting it, funding that protection, and guarding against tipping points are each crucial. The question is, will being in one of the world’s most important environmental regions be “motivational” to everyone in attendance?

4. Climate Finance, Transparency, & Implementation

It’s one thing to make big statements in a press conference, but another to deliver real results. Past COPs have set ambitious goals, but follow-through often lags. At COP30, there’s pressure to close the ambition–delivery gap. Ensuring that money flows to where it is most needed (especially to vulnerable states), that commitments are truly transparent, and that mechanisms exist for monitoring and accountability are vital to solving what’s truly a worldwide problem.

5. Equity, Inclusion, & Climate Justice

Climate change is not just a scientific or economic challenge; it’s a justice issue. Ensuring that small island states like Palau, frontline communities (including South Florida), and Indigenous peoples (including those in the Amazon region) have a seat and equal voice at the negotiation table and real influence is critical to success. Vulnerable nations need not only promises but predictable, reliable finance and mechanisms for the loss and damage they are suffering.

6. China “Versus” the United States

Another critical component of COP30, in my view, is that the United States, the world’s largest producer of crude oil and the second-largest emitter of carbon, has announced it will not send a delegation to Brazil. China, the world’s largest producer of coal and number one emitter of fossil fuel pollution will, however, be here and engaged.

I am increasingly concerned that America’s politicalization of our climate crisis has created staggering economic opportunities for other nations in important (and lucrative) fast-growing markets such as sustainable energy and electric vehicle manufacturing. For countless business and environmental reasons, it’s important that the U.S. finds a way to set politics and pandering to fossil fuel interests aside before other nations create dominant market positions and reap the riches of the global transition to a sustainable energy-oriented economy that is already underway.

Looking Ahead

As I leave for Brazil, my heart is full of hope while my mind is focused on reality. For the Amazon and world beyond, this conference is more than a story about forestry; it’s about planetary health. For Palau, my work is more than diplomacy; it’s about survival. In Belém, I hope to walk among trees that have stood for centuries, reflect on the voices of islanders who may stand for only decades more if we fail, and witness a conference that bridges hope with action. As always, I will do my best to provide you with an honest account of what was achieved, what fell short, and what comes next.

Allow me to end this post by extending my heartfelt thanks to those folks who have made this possible. Thank you to Dr. Jessica Owley and Val Fajardo (Environmental Law Fellow) at the University of Miami School of Law, whose mentorship and guidance have long supported my path in climate law and international environmental governance. And, thank you to the incredible team representing the Republic of Palau, including Joe Aitaro and Palau’s President Surangel Whipps Jr., for allowing me the honor of representing you and the people of Palau in Belém.