What Happened at COP30?

Rituraj Phukan

The 30th annual session of the Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was touted as the most important climate summit since Paris 2015. But the conference ended without an agreement on the core issue of a roadmap and timeframe for the phasing outof fossil fuels. The last-minute deal might have saved the negotiations from absolute failure, but it has also exposed the huge rift between nations, questioning the future of multilateralism.

Yet, the first climate conference in Brazil since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit had opened on a positive note with the adoption of the agendas without any disagreements. The country’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a pivotal figure in bringing the annual climate conference to Belem, on the fringes of the Amazon rainforest, had dubbed it as the “COP of Truth” calling out “misinformation, hate-spreading algorithms, and climate denialism” in his opening address.

The UNFCCC Secretary Simon Stiell in his opening address said that the Paris Agreement’s vision from a decade ago “is starting to materialize.”Noting that the emissions curve has begun to bend downward, he attributed the progress to global cooperation but cautioned that faster action on both reducing emissions and boosting resilience is urgently needed.

The announcement of a separate summit to be hosted by Colombia in April 2026 exposed the widening division between countries. A group of about 90 countries had demanded a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels during the talks in Belém, but the failure of COP30 to reach an agreement on the matter haveforced them to announce the conference in April, where they will aim to build consensus outside the framework convention.

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The talks were on the brink of collapse after a bitter standoff between the coalition of developed and developing countries led by the European Union calling for a clear roadmap for the phaseout of fossil fuels, and the petrostates including the Arab Group led by Saudi Arabia, and Russia. The impasse had pushed the talks past the deadline for closure of COP30, triggering all-night negotiations before a compromise could be reached.

Global Mutirão played a key role at COP30 by driving global climate action and pressing developed nations for accountability. It focused on finance, cutting emissions, and moving away from fossil fuels.Developing countries secured a partial victory, with wealthy nations agreeing to triple adaptation funding to $120bn annually by 2035, rather than the preferred 2030 target. This fulfills part of the $300bn commitment made at COP29 in Baku.

The Presidency prioritized nationally determined contributions, biennial transparency reports, developed countries’ finance provision (under Paris Agreement Article 9.1), and unilateral trade-restrictive measures. Determined to conclude negotiations quickly, the Presidency continued discussions on “the big four” issues for nearly seven hours, with convergence emerging around having a “Mutirão decision” spanning all of them.

The Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change launched the Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change at COP30, committing signatories to uphold accurate climate information at all levels in accordance with human rights law and the Paris Agreement principles.The Declaration calls on governments, the private sector, civil society, academia and funders to take concrete action to counter the growing impact of disinformation, misinformation, denialism and deliberate attacks on environmental journalists, defenders, scientists and researchers that undermine climate action and threaten societal stability.

The COP30 Presidency, along with the Climate High-Level Champions, unveiled a new five-year vision for the Global Climate Action Agenda, with an action-oriented, coordinated pathway for governments, businesses, investors, cities, subnational regions, Indigenous Peoples, and civil society to accelerate delivery of the Paris Agreement.This vision accelerates climate action by focusing on implementing a redefined Action Agenda. This agenda unifies and optimizes over 480 initiatives into 117 concrete delivery plans, known as Plans to Accelerate Solutions, building on progress across six thematic areas and 30 key objectives achieved before and during Belém.

Around $1 trillion USD was pledged for clean energy and grid expansion by 2030, while more than $9 billion USD was committed to regenerative landscapes across 110+ countries. Other announcements include billions secured for the new Tropical Forests Forever Facility (with at least 20% directed to Indigenous and local communities)and $300+ million pledged to build climate-resilient health systems through a new funders coalition.

The two weeks of chaotic climate negotiationsended with a compromise voluntary agreement to begin discussions on a roadmap to an eventual phase-out of fossil fuels, prompting many delegates to decry the “Empty Deal.”The President of COP30, Corrêa do Lago announced the creation of two presidency roadmaps, one on the transition away from fossil fuels in a just and equitable manner and the other on halting and reversing deforestation by 2030, with outcomes to be reported at COP 31, which will be in Turkey. It was confirmed that Ethiopia will host COP32 in 2027, making it the first time for the annual UN climate conference in a least developed country.

The contradictions and conflicts of interest could not have been more blatant in Belem. A analysis by the Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition found that more than 1600 fossil fuel lobbyists were granted access to the summit, outnumbering the delegations of every country except the hosts Brazil, has sent more people.The Amazon is already near a tipping point, where deforestation and climate change could push vast areas of rainforest into savannah, releasing billions of tons of carbon and disrupting weather systems across the globe.

Belem witnessed the first major protests at a UN climate conference since COP26 at Glasgow. Thousands of people participated in the “Great People’s March” following several other protests inside and outside the venue during the two weeks. Indigenous protesters forced their way into the COP30 climate summit venue on another day and clashed with security guards at the entrance to demand climate action and forest protection. The climate talks will now move to informal consultations, the Subsidiary Bodies meetings in June and COP31, but the spotlight now will be on what happens during the fossil fuel phase out focused talks in Colombia.

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