COP30 arrived in Belém this past November with expectations higher than the forest canopy surrounding it. For the first time, a COP landed in the Amazon, a choice that was both politically strategic and symbolically unavoidable. The Amazon wasn’t a backdrop; it was a warning. And in many ways, COP30 reflected that same dynamic: a world inching forward on climate action while the clock ticks louder.
For the international development community, this COP wasn’t just another instalment in a decades-long negotiation cycle. It was a recalibration. Climate, nature, finance, justice and development have now collided into a single global agenda, and the days of treating them as separate frameworks are over. The implications for staffing models, leadership expectations and organisational strategy will echo well beyond the Amazon. I believe this moment demands more than programme tweaks or new logframes; it demands a fundamental evolution in who leads, how they lead and how we find them.
The wins and gaps that changed the picture
COP30 did deliver a few real gains. The ‘Global Mutirão’ decision attempted to move the world from negotiation paralysis into collective action, an overdue shift, though whether countries actually behave differently remains to be seen. The pledge to triple adaptation finance by 2035 was trumpeted as a breakthrough, and in sheer volume, it is. But the details are murky, the timeline is leisurely, and the credibility gap remains wide. That gap becomes even more glaring when you consider the conference’s biggest shortfall: once again, the global community couldn’t reach consensus to formally commit to phasing out fossil fuels. And for a COP held in the rainforest, the absence of a binding deforestation roadmap lands somewhere between ironic and tragic.
COP30 pushed nature, biodiversity and Indigenous leadership further into the centre of the climate agenda. There was a genuine recognition that forests and ecosystems are cornerstone solutions. Just as importantly, the conference elevated the voices of communities who have been protecting these landscapes for generations. The message was unmistakable: climate action that ignores local knowledge, justice and inclusion isn’t just incomplete; it’s ineffective.
Impact on leadership and talent in international development
These shifts matter enormously for organisations working in international development. The post-COP30 world will demand more multidimensional leaders than the sector has historically cultivated. Technical expertise alone won’t cut it; nor will traditional development credentials. The emerging profile blends climate science, community engagement, financial innovation, political diplomacy and social justice fluency. Leaders will be expected to operate across disciplines even as the problems they face grow more complex and deeply interwoven. In my experience, when boards and executive teams appoint leaders with this breadth, and support them with the right structures and accountability, organisational ambition translates far more reliably into measurable impact.
COP30 also accelerated a trend the sector can no longer afford to delay: the shift towards local leadership. The conversation is no longer about ‘engaging’ Indigenous peoples or local actors; it is about ceding power, sharing governance and recognising that many of the most effective climate leaders aren’t found in global capitals but in biodiversity hotspots, forest territories and frontline communities. Organisations that cling to centralised, expatriate-heavy leadership structures will find themselves increasingly out of step with where the climate–development agenda is headed. Boards will be judged on whether they not only endorse this shift but hardwire it into mandates, incentives and appointments.
Then there’s the matter of money. If adaptation finance scales as COP30 envisions, the sector will face a talent race unlike anything before: climate-finance specialists, adaptation portfolio directors, blended-finance architects, locally rooted implementers and leaders capable of translating billions into real, lasting resilience. The sector will need to rethink talent pipelines from the ground up, drawing from new geographies, new disciplines and new networks. We also need to rethink how we search, assess and support those leaders: equitable, evidence-based processes that widen access rather than narrow it; balanced longlists that reflect the realities of the communities served; and onboarding and coaching that accelerate impact from day one. Decision confidence, risk reduction and reputation matter here, not as buzzwords, but as the conditions that enable leaders to succeed under intense scrutiny.
This is also a governance conversation. The complexity that COP30 surfaced, and the trade-offs it left unresolved, will show up in boardrooms as strategic ambiguity, political pressure and heightened expectations for transparency. Chairs and board members will need to reconcile diverse and competing positions while staying focused on mission, risk and performance. That calls for leaders who can speak multiple ‘languages’: climate science and community realities, philanthropic intent and private capital, policy nuance and operational delivery. It also calls for search processes and leadership development approaches that test for this fluency and support it over time.
Ultimately, COP30 leaves us with an uncomfortable but necessary truth: the world is moving, but not nearly fast enough. Progress was made, but the absence of a concrete fossil-fuel phase-out casts a long shadow over everything else. Still, if there is one clear takeaway for the international development community, it’s this: the organisations that will shape the next decade are the ones that respond now, not later. Those that invest in diverse, interdisciplinary, locally rooted leadership, rather than relying on outdated structures, will be the ones capable of turning incremental global progress into meaningful, real-world change.
As a strategic talent partner, we stand ready to support this transformation. I believe that building leadership, rooted in equity, capable of scaling impact and fluent in climate finance and inclusive governance, is not just about recruiting the right people. It is about enabling organisations to seize this moment, steward trust across stakeholders and convert ambition into outcomes. In practical terms, that means rigorous, fair and transparent searches; leaders supported to succeed; and a shared commitment to inclusion and effectiveness. If global climate ambition stalls, leadership innovation must not. The promise of COP30, a safer, fairer, climate‑resilient world, will be delivered by the leaders we choose, the systems we build around them and the courage we bring to change.
