COP30 Ends: No Fossil Fuel Phaseout Yet, Countries Grudgingly Agree on Some Adaptation, Finance Aspects

Bengaluru: The 30th Conference of Parties or COP30, which was underway at Belém in Brazil, wrapped up on Saturday, November 22. Though some countries pressed for a reference to initiate a phase out of fossil fuels, this did not find its way into the final texts of adopted decisions agreed on by all parties. However, the more than 190 countries that took part in the negotiations agreed to adopt the ‘Global Mutirão’ text which pertains to several aspects such as the implementation of climate finance by developed countries, and the ‘Belém Political Package’ which comprises the new Belém Gender Action Plan, among other things.

However, the last day of the COP was also punctuated with disagreement and debate, cheers and boos, with countries adopting — albeit grudgingly and after much dissent in the closing plenary — some matters pertaining to a list of indicators to assess the implementation of adaptation measures.

In a valiant attempt to bring in some reference to fossil fuels, Brazilian COP30 president André Corrêa do Lago unveiled two ‘roadmaps’ in the closing plenary on November 22 — one roadmap to halt and revert deforestation, and another for countries to transition away from fossil fuels in a “just” and “orderly” way.

Disagreements on closing day

The 30th Conference of Parties on climate change — COP30 — was to wind up on November 21, but host Brazil extended it by a day after negotiations dragged on. A major fire had also resulted in the venue at Belém being closed down for several hours on November 20, as The Wire had reported.

Though some agreements were reached at, November 22, which marked the final day of COP30, was also punctuated by disagreement and drama.

The closing plenary session began more than two hours late on November 22, past noon at Brazil Standard time.

COP president do Lago also suspended the session temporarily after almost an hour into the programme. This came after do Lago gavelled the Global Mutirão text and several others such as one on the Global Goal on Adaptation as adopted.

The Global Mutirão text pertains to several aspects including Article 9, paragraph 1, of the Paris Agreement which mandates that developed countries fund adaptation and mitigation measures in developing countries, and concerns related to  trade-restrictive unilateral measures by parties such as the European Union. In the final text, it was decided to launch the “Global Implementation Accelerator” as a cooperative, facilitative and voluntary initiative to “accelerate implementation, enhance international cooperation across all actors to keep 1.5 °C within reach, and support countries in implementing their nationally determined contributions and national adaptation plans”.

The text on the Global Goal on Adaptation included identifying a set of 59 of the 100 indicators to measure implementation of adaptation measures (this was one of the many main targets of this COP).

However, after do Lago gavelled these texts, several countries (many Latin American nations including Argentina and Paraguay) intervened and raised objections primarily about some aspects of the Global Goal on Adaptation — such as the whittling down of indicators to measure the implementation of adaptation measures from 100 to 59, and not taking into account expert opinions on these indicators.

The views of parties were not “meaningfully represented” and the presidency did not allocate enough time to analyse the indicators, Colombia said.

“The developing world cannot continue to shoulder this collecting cost of adaptation on its own,” it said.

Also read: So Who Exactly Protests at COP?

Colombia raised objections thrice, pointing out procedural lapses in the plenary for having ignored their request to make an intervention regarding the Global Goal on Adaptation text before it was gavelled and passed as adopted by the COP30 president.

Do Lago then suspended the plenary to consult with disagreeing member parties on a way forward. However, the texts were already gavelled, and thus were officially recognised as adopted by the UNFCCC secretariat. Disagreeing member parties agreed to accept the decisions in the spirit of multilateralism.

India lauds COP presidency

India, however, lauded the COP30 presidency during the closing plenary on behalf of the BASIC group of countries and said it stood in solidarity with the presidency.

“In the last two weeks, we have all been working tirelessly to ensure we have a consensus on important issues,” India said. “It is in our interest to ensure that climate multilateralism succeeds and provides the right guidance to address this global challenge. We appreciate the COP presidency for invoking the spirit of mutirão as demonstrated especially in the last few days, for ensuring that all parties are consulted and a delicate balance is achieved on issues with some parties holding extreme positions.”

India added that as a COP of truth and a COP of implementation, parties could not leave the room without an outcome. “We stand firmly with the COP President, Brazil's Mutirão spirit and the complete package, delicately crafted, all the documents are being adopted as a package today and we look forward to working closely to ensure that today's outcome takes us in the right direction for climate action,” India said.

In another intervention a little later on behalf of Like-Minded Developing Countries, India also said that the Group “shares the concern regarding the pattern we are witnessing right now in the Plenary”.

“Certain parties repeatedly are taking turns to object and delay the plenary in an effort to secure outcomes that reflect their individual preferences. Rather than respecting the party-driven, consensus-based nature of this process, this behavior risks undermining the multilateral spirit that must guide our work,” India said.

India pointed out that a gavelled decision could not be re-opened and that this is not the norm.

“We are here to work jointly to demonstrate maximum flexibility and to do our utmost to achieve a positive, balanced outcome for us all. The children in all of us must grow for progress,” India added.

Earlier in the plenary, some Latin American countries including Colombia had taken exception to Russia’s comment claiming that they were acting like children whose candies had been taken away.

No reference to fossil fuels in draft text

References to initiate phase out of fossil fuels did not make it to the Global Mutirão text, contrary to what several developed countries including the European Union wanted.

The AFP reported that 36 countries including wealthy nations, emerging economies and small island states had warned in a letter to Brazil that they would reject any deal that did not include a plan to move away from oil, coal and gas. But a member of an EU delegation told AFP that the 27-nation bloc was “isolated” and cast as the “villains” at the talks. However, they caved in as several countries (many that produce oil and coal including India) refused to bring in fossil fuel phaseouts into the language text, per the news agency.

Delegates speak informally before the start of closing plenary. Photo: © UN Climate Change/Kiara Worth

In a valiant attempt to bring in some reference to fossil fuels, Brazilian COP30 president do Lago unveiled two ‘roadmaps’ in the closing plenary on November 22.

“We know some of you had greater ambitions for some of the issues at hand…As President Lula said at the opening of this COP, we need roadmaps so that humanity in a just and planned manner can overcome its dependence on fossil fuels, halt and reverse deforestation and mobilise resources for these purposes. I as President of COP30 will therefore create two roadmaps, one on halting and reverting deforestation, another to transitioning away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner,” do Lago announced.

These initiatives would be inclusive and led by science, he added:

“With the spirit of the Mutirão, we will convene high level dialogues gathering key international organisations, governments from both producing and consuming countries, industry workers, scholars, civil society and will report back to the call. We will also benefit from the first international conference for the phase out of fossil fuels scheduled to take place in April in Colombia.”

However, these roadmaps are voluntary and not binding on any member party.

Tough negotiations

There were reports of negotiations extending into the night over the last two days of COP30 as member parties debated the inclusion and deletion of specific words and phrases in the draft texts on several discussion or agenda items such as the Mitigation Work Programme and others.

New, final texts of several agenda items such as the Just Transition Work Programme and the Mutirão text were uploaded online on November 21 and the wee hours of November 22 (Brazil Standard Time, which is 8.5 hours behind Indian Standard Time).

The COP30 president speaks at the closing plenary. Photo: UN Climate Change/Kiara Worth

Apart from the Global Mutirão text, the other texts adopted after negotiations at COP30 include the UAE Just Transition Work Programme and the Belem Political Package. This Package includes, among other things, the Belem Gender Action Plan. This plan identifies that gender-responsive implementation of climate policy and action can enable member parties to raise ambition and enhance gender equality, and also create decent work and quality jobs in accordance with nationally defined development priorities. It also acknowledges that the differentiated impacts of climate change and opportunities for all women and girls, including indigenous women and others, are shaped by multidimensional factors.

One of the final agreements also called for efforts to “at least triple adaptation finance by 2035”.

“In a year where climate multilateralism has been challenged, getting a good deal was better than failing to get any deal in pursuit of the best deal,” commented Arunabha Ghosh, South Asia Climate Envoy to COP30 Presidency & CEO, Council for Energy Environment & Water (CEEW).

“The simple truth is that the world is not binary. Real transitions happen amid complex and hard development choices. We saw important steps calling for at least tripling adaptation finance (even though by 2035); recognising diverse national pathways for a just transition; deciding to establish a two-year work programme on climate finance, including on Article 9.1 in the context of Article 9 as a whole; reaffirming that measures taken to combat climate change, including unilateral ones, should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination; and finally, deciding to launch a Global Implementation Accelerator, including a high-level dialogue next year,” he said.

Ghosh added that there was a need for genuine investment pathways, honest recognition of the scale of loss and damage, adequate concessional finance, and a system that judges COPs the way company boards judge annual performance — not on plans, but on delivery.

Türkiye will host next COP

Türkiye will host COP31, the next year’s climate summit.

The decision came after Türkiye and Australia were locked in a standoff about hosting the next conference, with the possibility that the COP might revert to Bonn in Germany if a stalemate arose.

However, Australia backed out from holding the COP in the country. Both Türkiye and Australia instead, have agreed to shoulder the COP31 presidency together. Australia hopes to highlight the concerns of its Pacific neighbours through this COP, it said on November 22 on the closing day of COP30. A pre-COP will be held in the Pacific, and will be used as an opportunity for pledging to the Pacific Resilience Fund by world leaders and others. Australian climate and energy minister Chris Bowen will be appointed as COP31 president (negotiations).

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