Over the past two decades, we’ve heard countless world leaders promise bold climate ambition. We’ve seen pledges, targets, and declarations, each delivered with fanfare and urgency. And yet, despite all this ambition, the world remains dangerously off course.

It’s not that we lack ideas. It’s that we lack accountability.

As we head toward COP30 in Brazil, I find myself reflecting on how often ambition is celebrated while implementation is quietly ignored. From the outside, these climate conferences can look like momentum. But from the inside, from the perspective of someone who’s worked with governments, communities, and frontline workers to deliver climate action, momentum means nothing without follow-through.

That’s why I created The GreenPlan. Not to join the noise, but to provide a practical, measurable, real-world system for embedding climate action into every part of society. Whether it’s a city council, a fire station, a corporate boardroom, or a local school, climate ambition only matters if you can prove it leads to change.

COP30 must be the moment we stop clapping for promises and start asking for proof.

This isn’t cynicism. I remain deeply hopeful. But hope, to me, means showing people what’s possible, not asking them to wait.

At every COP, I arrive optimistic. I give policymakers the benefit of the doubt. I trust in the process, because that trust helps hold the door open. But when those promises aren’t delivered, when ambition fades into political delay, I speak out. Publicly. Clearly. And without apology.

Because we owe it to the people who don’t get invited into these rooms. We owe it to the communities living with climate impacts now, not just the ones forecasting for 2050.

So here’s my message heading into COP30:

Let’s make this the turning point. Let’s shift the narrative. Let’s stop asking “What are you promising?” and start asking “What have you delivered?”

Ambition might win the headlines. But only accountability will change history.