Introduction
COP30 to be held in Belém in November 2025 comes at a critical time for cities. Climate change is no longer a distant scenario, but a reality that affects health, mobility and urban environmental quality. Spain is no exception: more intense heat waves, persistent pollution and growing demand for green spaces are redefining public priorities. Understanding what COP30 represents and how it can drive healthy urban policies is a core topic to move towards resilient and sustainable cities.
COP30 and its global relevance
The lecture will bring together the Parties to the United Nations framework Convention on Climate Change between 10 and 21 November 2025. It coincides with the tenth anniversary of the Paris agreement and twenty years since the Kyoto protocol , which underlines the need to move from declarations of intent to concrete results that impact on people's lives (European Commission, 2025). The Brazilian presidency has defined as priorities to strengthen multilateralism, accelerate the implementation of the Paris agreement and link climate action to the daily life of communities(OECD, 2025).
The United Nations Environment Program organizes COP30 along six axes: energy transition, ecosystem management , food systems, urban and water resilience, human and social development , and catalysts such as finance, technology and training (UNEP, 2025). This framework opens space to address urban issues such as air quality, green infrastructure, sustainable mobility and citizen participation(COP30 Brazil, 2025).
The European and Spanish vision
The European Union has updated its Nationally Determined Contribution, proposing a net emissions reduction of between 66.25% and 72.5% by 2035 compared to 1990(Council of the European Union, 2025). This commitment requires not only mitigation, but also adaptation, fair energy transition and attention to the most vulnerable groups. In Spain, these objectives are translated into national legislation and urban planning, placing cities as essential actors to meet climate commitments.
Urban impacts of climate change
Climate change affects cities not only through extreme events, but also in everyday life. Polluted air, loss of vegetation, urban heat and noise have a particular impact on the most vulnerable people. In Spain, factors such as dense traffic, aging vehicle fleet and frequent heat waves generate less healthy urban environments. At the same time, interest in nature-based solutions offers opportunities to regenerate urban spaces, increase biodiversity and generate tangible social benefits.
Science and innovation for healthy cities
Applied research is a core topic to guide urban action. From the University of Navarra and the BIOMA Institute, the OPTIGREEN project combines mobile sensors, modeling and satellite data to evaluate how urban vegetation can improve air quality and thermal comfort. This approach allows identifying critical areas, such as streets with accumulation of pollutants or neighborhoods exposed to high temperatures, and designing interventions with a direct impact on urban health. It is also aligned with European initiatives such as the Green Deal and global strategies focused on health and climate.
Opportunities and constraints
The decisions adopted in Belém can define international financing frameworks, strengthen urban adaptation and guide investments in environmental monitoring, sustainable mobility and green infrastructure. This can reduce territorial inequalities, improve air quality and promote more livable environments. Digitization and sensor networks facilitate the translation of scientific evidence into effective public policies.
However, there are limitations to global negotiations. Attention tends to focus on energy, industry and agriculture, leaving urban issues less visible, despite the fact that cities account for most of the population and emissions. Environmental monitoring thus becomes an instrument of climate justice: it makes it possible to identify the most affected areas and to encourage citizen co-responsibility.
Conclusion
COP30 represents a historic opportunity to connect global climate action with tangible urban transformations. Through scientific research , technological innovation and inclusive planning, cities like Pamplona can become benchmarks of resilience, health and sustainability in an increasingly challenging climate context.
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César Quishpe
researcher of the Biodiversity and Environment Institute BIOMA of the University of Navarra.
article published in The Conversation España.
