The climate conference ended at the weekend with modest gains on fossil fuel reduction and emission cuts.
COP30 drew to a close at the weekend in Brazil, but progress was far form sufficient to curb climate and air pollution risks. Countries agreed to begin discussions on a voluntary roadmap to phase out fossil fuels however, this was only achieved in the teeth of implacable opposition from oil-producing countries.
The agreement, involving 194 countries but excluding the United States, came after 12 hours of nonstop negotiations and concluded at 1.35pm on Saturday. Originally, the conference was due to end on Friday 21st November 2025.
In addition to making limited progress on phasing out fossil fuels, a roadmap to stopping deforestation was dropped from the deal entirely. The decision left nature and climate advocates disappointed, especially as this year’s conference – held near the Amazon River – was dubbed the ‘rainforest COP’.
Jennifer Morgan, COP veteran and former German climate envoy, said: ‘While far from what’s needed, the outcome in Belém is meaningful progress. The Paris agreement is working, the transition away from fossil fuels agreed in Dubai [at the COP28 talks in 2023] is accelerating.
‘Despite the efforts of major oil-producing states to slow down the green transition, multilateralism continues to support the interests of the whole world in tackling the climate crisis.’
Mohamed Adow, director of Power Shift Africa, added: ‘With an increasingly fractured geopolitical backdrop, COP30 gave us some baby steps in the right direction, but considering the scale of the climate crisis, it has failed to rise to the occasion. Despite calling themselves climate leaders, developed countries have betrayed vulnerable nations by failing to deliver science-aligned national emission reduction plans.’
In the final agreement, developing won partial gains, including $120bn annually from 2035 to help communities adapt to climate impacts.
The finding will come from the £300bn developed countries pledged at last year’s COP, which was initially due by 2030. Many also hoped the increase would be on top of to the $300bn.
Pakistan’s Aisha Humaira criticised the delay: ‘Countries that have used all sources of energy in the last 200 years and have achieved the pinnacle of industrial growth and yet not stopped using all those sources of energy are telling us ‘stop growing’.
‘The right to growth and security is fundamental for every country.’
During the talks, other provisions focused on emissions monitoring, ‘just transitions’ for workers and programmes to strengthen national climate pledges. However, key measures on critical minerals – essential for clean energy alternatives – were blocked by China and Russia.
Teresa Anderson, global lead on climate justice at ActionAid International, explained that ‘a lack of climate finance is throwing a spanner in the works of climate progress.’
‘Global south countries, [which] are already carrying the costs of the climate crisis they have not caused, desperately need support from rich countries if they are to take on any more commitments,’ Anderson said. ‘Nowhere was this more stark than on the issue of fossil fuels, where specific text once again ended up underfunded and on the cutting-room floor.’
David Symons, global leader of the Future Ready Programme at WSP, remarked: ‘The transition to a zero‑carbon, electrified economy continues to accelerate, even if COP30’s final decision fell short of the stronger fossil‑fuel roadmap many had hoped for.
‘What stands out are the practical, multilateral steps that can drive near‑term impact – such as Brazil’s Tropical Forests Forever Facility, designed to make forests worth more standing than felled, and the UK‑led methane push to cut super‑pollutants fast. These side agreements and cooperation platforms are where immediate progress can be made while ambition on the core text catches up.’
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