UNITED NATIONS: In a pivotal outcome at COP30 in Belem, Brazil, countries agreed on a sweeping package to scale up climate finance and accelerate implementation of the Paris Agreement – but without a clear commitment to move away from fossil fuels.
The final decision emphasizes solidarity and investment, setting ambitious financial targets while leaving energy transition language off the table. The burning of fossil fuels emits greenhouse gases that are by far the largest contributors to global warming, making this omission a point of concern for many nations, including negotiators from South America and the EU, as well as civil society groups.
Meanwhile, the Climate Action Network International (CAN) welcomed the adoption of the Just Transition mechanism as one of the strongest rights-based outcomes in the history of the UN climate negotiations, but warned that COP30 produced weak outcomes in the very areas that are critical to ensuring justice for vulnerable and frontline communities.
This was the first COP held in the Amazon and the first since the UN warned that the record increase in greenhouse gas levels means it will be “virtually impossible” to limit global warming to 1.5 °C in the next few years without temporarily overshooting the Paris Agreement target.
After two weeks of intense negotiations, the text calls for mobilizing at least $1.3 trillion per year by 2035 for climate action, alongside tripling adaptation finance and operationalizing the loss and damage fund agreed at COP28.
It also launches two major initiatives – the Global Implementation Accelerator and the Belem Mission to 1.5°C – to help countries deliver on their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and adaptation plans.
For the first time, the decision acknowledges the need to tackle climate disinformation, pledging to promote information integrity and counter narratives that undermine science-based action.
Last week, Brazil’s President, Luiz Insacio Lula da Silva, opened the summit declaring it would be known as “the COP of truth,” and this decision marks a significant step toward safeguarding public trust in climate policy – even as the absence of fossil fuel transition language underscores the political complexity of energy negotiations.
In the closing meeting, COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago acknowledged what was left out of the deal:
“We know some of you had greater ambitions for some of the issues at hand,” he said, adding, “I know the youth civil society will demand us to do more to fight climate change. I want to reaffirm that I will try not to disappoint you during my presidency.”
Reflecting on President Lula’s call at the opening of COP30 for ambition, Mr. do Lago announced plans to create two roadmaps: one to halt and reverse deforestation; and another to transition away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner, mobilizing resources for these purposes in a “just and planned manner.”
The road to consensus at the latest Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as the annual COPs are formally known, was anything but smooth.
Earlier this week, Indigenous groups staged blockades demanding stronger protections for the Amazon, and late Thursday afternoon, a fire in the main conference hall disrupted talks during a critical phase. Negotiators worked through the night on Friday – to bridge gaps on finance and ambition, with Brazil’s presidency steering discussions toward a politically workable outcome focused on support and implementation of agreements from past COPs.
From the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent a clear message to COP30: At the gateway of the Amazon, Parties reached an agreement that shows nations can still unite to confront challenges no country can solve alone.
The UN chief said that COP30 delivered progress, such as the launch of the Global Implementation Accelerator to close ambition gaps and reaffirmed the UAE Consensus, including a just, orderly and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.
“But COPs are consensus-based – and in a period of geopolitical divides, consensus is ever harder to reach. I cannot pretend that COP30 has delivered everything that is needed.” Overshoot of 1.5°C is a stark warning: deep, rapid emission cuts and massive climate finance are essential. “COP30 is over, but the work is not,” he said.
The UN Secretary-General vowed to keep pushing for higher ambition and solidarity, urging all who marched, negotiated and mobilized: “Do not give up. History – and the United Nations – are on your side. –Agencies
