South America plays a leading role in the international environmental agenda in 2025. Brazil is hosting the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), taking place from November 10 to 21 in Belém, in the heart of the Amazon. This is the first time a COP has been held in the world's largest rainforest, highlighting the interdependence between climate, biodiversity, food security, and other issues related to sustainable development.
According to official information from COP30, with the main climate commitments already made, the global discussion is now focused on their implementation: advancing adaptation metrics, defining a roadmap to expand climate finance, and assessing whether new national targets will allow the world to move toward the goal of limiting warming to 1,5°C. In this regard, Brazil—as the Conference President—will seek to strengthen multilateralism, connect climate action with people's daily lives, and accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement, the international treaty adopted in 2015 that establishes global targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing the effects of climate change.
Green Customs: Innovation and Sustainability at COP30
In this context, Customs is fully embracing the climate agenda with an initiative that constitutes one of the priority areas of the World Customs Organization's Strategic Plan: Green CustomsThis proposal will be the focus of a major international event held alongside COP30, which the Receita Federal do Brasil will organize the November 12 to 14 in Manaus under the title “Green Customs: Innovation and Sustainability”.
The meeting will seek to strengthen the role of customs control in the transition to a low-carbon economy, promoting greater international cooperation against environmental crimes and fostering technological innovation applied to border management.
Furthermore, the choice of Manaus —capital of the state of Amazonas, founded in 1669 and with 2,2 million inhabitants— is due, according to information from the Federal Revenue Service, to its strategic location in the Amazon biome, consolidating itself as an ideal scenario to address the links between foreign trade, sustainability and innovation.
To that end, the meeting will bring together the World Customs Organization (WCO), international bodies such as ASAPRA, customs authorities from various countries, representatives from the private sector, and civil society organizations. The panels will be structured around the following pillars: BEING, DOING and INNOVATING, addressing everything from reducing the institutional environmental footprint to incorporating advanced technologies and deepening international cooperation to accelerate the green transition.
In this way, the event seeks to promote more sustainable customs operations, strengthen the fight against environmental crimes, and leverage technological innovation for faster and more transparent decision-making. Environmental issues are a global and intersectoral challenge that requires simultaneous approaches from multiple disciplines. National specificities cannot be isolated from international action, and it is at this point that customs plays a central role: it consolidates its position as a strategic actor at the border, controlling, facilitating, and connecting the local with the global.
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
