One thing I didn’t expect to see in the headlines this week was COP30, especially as it doesn't take place until November.

Yes, the global United Nations climate change summit has seen huge commitments over the years by many countries, been a home of hard bargaining, and  faced accusations of too much talk and not enough action.

We can usually assume the noise levels towards a COP event will begin to increase in late summer, and a series of alarming reports in autumn about the extent of climate damage that has been inflicted. Not to mention reminders of the profound international action required to address it.

So, March is on the early side. But this week saw heavily-publicised remarks from the Brazilian president of COP30, which will take place in Belém, about the role the US will likely play in the talks, even if its presence is limited given the approach to much climate-related policy of President Trump’s administration.

America will still be “central to solving the climate crisis despite Donald Trump’s withdrawal of government support and cash,” according to André Corrêa do Lago in a Guardian article.

“COP30 will be the first to take place at the epicentre of the climate crisis, and the first to be hosted in the Amazon, one of the world’s most vital ecosystems, now at risk of reaching an irreversible tipping point, according to scientists,” he also said, in a letter to all UN countries.

The focus of this next COP, in his previewing remarks, will be less on the widescale negotiation of the past few years, and more on accelerating what has already been agreed, with US ambition and innovation likely an important factor in driving global change.

Corrêa do Lago will also convene two meetings with global leaders prior to COP30 to discuss countries' pledges to lower emissions of greenhouse gases, Reuters reported.

With some of the dust settling after Trump’s initial raft of policy changes and proclamations that impact climate action, the preview of COP30 given in recent days is of one that will seek to bring large nations - many of them now also locked in tariff wars with the US - together on commitments that will go far beyond the US presidential term. In other words, rather than a subdued and divided summit, the emphasis has been placed on unity, ambition and faster action.

For businesses, many of which have shied away from the past two COPs because of their locations, it also does something to set the tone around climate action rising above geopolitical squabbles and offer a platform for reinforcing their own pledges. Some companies, particularly those facing investor pressure to lighten those commitments, will have much to potentially navigate as they consider how they will (or won’t) lean in to COP30.

They will also be considering the reputation of Brazil itself, which wasn’t helped by other news this week that part of a protected rainforest is being felled to create a new highway for the conference.

But as the main focus will be on what action nations will take, companies will likely also be thinking about how best to engage governments, particulate in their home markets, to help shape united fronts for politicians when they meet in Brazil.

In the meantime, expect the pre-COP noise to continue, particularly given the global political backdrop, over the coming months.