At the 2025 global climate summit, COP30, held in Belém, Brazil, one decision stood out with major consequences for Africa: countries agreed on a new set of progress indicators.
The “Belém Adaptation Indicators” were developed through a two-year UN process.
Although the name may sound technical, the idea is straightforward. For the first time, countries now have a shared way to understand whether the world is actually improving at adapting to climate impacts. Climate adaptation means taking actions to prepare for and cope with the impacts of climate change. These impacts include floods, droughts, heatwaves, coastal erosion, crop losses and climate-driven displacement of people.
