International leaders will gather this November in the heart of the Amazon rainforest as Belém, Brazil, hosts COP30. Located at the mouth of the Amazon River, Belém is home to over 1.3 million people and marked by skyscrapers—a metropolis that may seem incompatible with the rainforest, and one that was my home for nearly two years. The UN Climate Summit will shine a light on our common responsibility to preserve this critical biome—which spans nine countries—and will also highlight the