By SETH BORENSTEIN, ANTON L. DELGADO and MELINA WALLING, Associated Press

BELEM, Brazil (AP) — Higher-ranking government ministers took charge of negotiations during Monday’s United Nations climate talks , facing pressure to do more — and do it fast.

The summit, known as COP30, opened its second week with foreign and other ministers stepping in for the lower-level negotiators who handled the first week. They have far more power and leeway to make tough political decisions, and U.N. Climate Executive Secretary Simon Stiell told them to use it.

Brazil Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, right, shakes hands with U.N. General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock during a plenary session at the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit, Monday, Nov. 17, 2025, in Belem, Brazil. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

“The

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