The UN Cop 30 climate summit concluded today without a deal on a plan to shift away from fossil fuels, but with a promise from the Brazilian Cop 30 presidency to oversee the creation of a roadmap on the issue.
The presidency also pledged the creation of a roadmap on reversing deforestation. The roadmaps will sit outside Cop negotiations, although countries and organisations will be invited to submit input. Progress will be reported at Cop 31 in late 2026.
At least 80 countries, including EU members, the UK, Latin American nations, island states and UN-designated least developed countries (LDCs) had pushed for the overarching Cop 30 text to address a shift away from fossil fuels, but options for a roadmap did not make the final decision.
Instead, the main text agreed on the launch of a "global implementation accelerator", and the "Belém Mission to 1.5". These initiatives are aimed at "enabling ambition and implementation" of countries' climate plans and at keeping the 1.5°C temperature limit of the Paris Agreement in reach. This refers to the more ambitious goal of the Paris accord — to hold the global rise in temperature to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and preferably to 1.5°C.
Other outcomes adopted today, including workstreams on a just energy transition and a mitigation — cutting emissions — work programme, neglected to mention a phase-out or shift away from fossil fuels. But countries did acknowledge that "the global transition towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development is irreversible and the trend of the future".
The EU and other supporters of a roadmap for a transition away from fossil fuels did not oppose the main text today, even though some yesterday had signalled that they could, and the text was adopted swiftly. German environment minister Carsten Schneider said that opposing the text would have signalled a lack of cooperation from the international community.
The main outcome text released today, dubbed ‘Mutirao' — a Portuguese term harnessed by the Cop 30 presidency to encourage engagement and action, that roughly translates to collective mobilisation — attempted to address four contentious items that had been left off the summit's official agenda. These comprised climate finance, unilateral trade measures, a response to countries' climate plans — collectively misaligned with Paris Agreement targets — and emissions reporting.
Plenary suspension
Other texts in the so-called political package were quickly adopted, but Colombia spoke out against the mitigation work programme — unless language on the transition away from fossil fuels was added. Correa do Lago suspended the plenary while the Cop 30 presidency sought a solution. Decisions ‘gavelled through', or adopted, at Cops cannot be revoked. But Correa do Lago said that countries will be able to discuss issues in June 2026 in Bonn, Germany, at interim climate talks hosted annually by UN climate body the UNFCCC.
The intervention prompted stark responses from Saudi Arabia and Russia, which have opposed the addition of wording on fossil fuel throughout the summit, according to French climate minister Monique Barbut. Schneider also said calls for language on transitioning away from fossil fuels faced strong opposition from oil-producing countries.
Colombia has led other nations in calling for a fossil fuel phase-out, and this week announced that it would co-host talks on the topic with the Netherlands in April. Its declaration at Cop 30 calling for a fossil fuel phase-out was signed by countries including hydrocarbon producers Australia, Mexico, and Denmark.
Nigeria, the largest oil producer in Africa, said in response to Colombia in the closing plenary that "a successful transition cannot be imposed" and that it would not support anything that would lead to "a sudden economic contraction".
The LDCs did not see the ambition they were looking for in Belem, the group's chair, and chief environment officer at Malawi's climate ministry Evans Njewa told Argus today. The group will start preparing for Cop 31 in Turkey and aim to get their demands over the line at Cop 32, he said. Cop 32 will be held in Ethiopia, an LDC.
Adaptation trade-off
While many nations pushed for stronger action on reducing emissions, developing nations called for increased finance for adaptation — adjusting to the effects of climate change where possible. Some European countries signalled they were concerned that if they did not agree to the text, some countries — including major oil producers — would have framed them as finance ‘blockers' for poorer developing nations.
The Mutirao decision "calls for efforts to at least triple adaptation finance by 2035" — within the framework of the Cop 29 decision. It "urges developed country parties to increase the trajectory of their collective provision of climate finance for adaptation" to developing nations.
Countries agreed at Cop 29 that developed nations would provide $300bn/yr in climate finance to developing countries by 2035. But at Cop 30 developing countries, led by the LDCs and small island developing states (Sids), pushed for adaptation finance to triple to $120bn/yr by 2030.
On unilateral trade, the Mutirao document affirmed that countries should "cooperate to promote a supportive and open international economic system that would lead to sustainable economic growth and development". It also stated that "measures taken to combat climate change, including unilateral ones, should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade".
This is likely to be welcomed by some developing nations. Several have used climate talks to raise their objection to the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism.
UNFCCC executive secretary Simon Stiell acknowledged the intense challenges in the shape of "stormy political waters" that the Cop process has faced this year. "But amid the gale-force political headwinds, 194 countries stood firm in solidarity — rock-solid in support of climate cooperation", Stiell said.
