Brazil’s COP30 presidency successfully brokered a compromise climate agreement on Saturday, focusing on increasing financial support for developing nations impacted by climate change while omitting any mention of the role of fossil fuels in driving global warming. Despite the absence of the United States’ formal delegation, Brazil aimed to showcase global solidarity in addressing climate change issues.
The agreement, reached after intense negotiations in Belém over two weeks, revealed significant divisions on the direction of future climate actions. While some countries expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of concrete plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and phase out fossil fuels, others, including Colombia, Panama, and Uruguay, objected to the deal’s exclusion of scientific evidence.
Colombia emphasized the necessity of addressing fossil fuels, the primary source of emissions causing planetary warming, stating that an agreement ignoring scientific facts was inadequate. The disagreement led to heated discussions among nations, with the European Union advocating for language promoting a transition away from fossil fuels, contrary to the stance of countries like Saudi Arabia opposing any mention of fossil fuels in the agreement.
Following intense negotiations, the EU eventually agreed not to block the final deal, although it expressed reservations about the outcome. Panama’s representative criticized the agreement, emphasizing that failing to address fossil fuels amounted to complicity rather than neutrality.
The summit also introduced a voluntary initiative to expedite climate actions and called for developed nations to triple their financial support to assist developing countries in adapting to climate change impacts by 2035. Developing nations stressed the urgency of receiving adequate funds to address rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and other climate-related challenges.
Despite the focus on financial support, concerns were raised about the lack of rapid-response grants for developing countries dealing with loss and damage from climate impacts. Additionally, countries like Sierra Leone contested the measurement indicators proposed at the summit, claiming they did not accurately reflect the situation on the ground.
The European Union and the Arab group engaged in prolonged negotiations over the fossil fuels issue, eventually leading to a compromise agreement with a separate text on fossil fuels and forest protection. The COP30 president encouraged continued discussions on these contentious issues. The agreement also initiated a review process to align international trade with climate action to overcome barriers hindering the adoption of clean technologies.