Some thirty countries wrote to the president of the UN climate conference (COP30) in Brazil on Thursday to ask him to review the copy and include a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels, according to several signatory countries.
COP30 will end this Friday evening. Its president, diplomat André Correa do Lago, has been under pressure from nearly 200 countries meeting in Belém since last week to form a text capable of consolidating consensus, according to COP rules. The latest draft text, referenced Thursday by AFP, makes no mention of fossil fuels.
“We are very concerned about the current proposals, whether they will be accepted or not,” wrote Colombia, France, Britain, Germany and other countries, according to a list provided by the Colombian delegation to AFP. France and Belgium have confirmed their signatures. “We owe you honesty: in its current form, the proposal does not meet the minimum requirements for a credible outcome at this COP,” the countries continued.
“We cannot support text that does not include a roadmap to a just, orderly and equitable transition away from fossil fuels,” they wrote. The exit of oil, coal and gas, which is largely responsible for global warming, is once again hotly debated in Belem as the issue seems unlikely to be revived since the first call at COP28 in Dubai two years ago.
President Lula himself has advocated a “road map” to speed up the country’s exit since the start of the summit. But according to a negotiator who did not want to be named, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Russia have rejected it.
