COP30 ended without major commitments to phase out fossil fuels, which was the main goal of the UN Climate Conference held in Belém, Brazil, and supported by dozens of countries. In the final agreement, the 194 participating countries committed, among other things, to accelerating the energy transition and doubling the funds allocated to countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, but no roadmap was mentioned for eliminating fossil fuels, which are the main cause of polluting emissions and global warming.
Two years ago, at COP28 in Dubai, representatives from around 200 countries in attendance agreed on the need to eliminate fossil fuels and achieve net zero emissions by 2050. But what was the resolution? No do is established as whether a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy should take place, and over what timeframe. From this point of view, last year’s COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, was a failure.
Today, in Belém, at least 83 countries, mainly in Europe, Africa and Latin America, are of the opinion that the final text of the COP should include mention of a plan to phase out fossil fuels. If this roadmap is established, a dedicated discussion forum should outline the plan in the coming years, perhaps at the next climate conference. However, this issue has received a lot of resistance, especially from oil-producing countries, such as the United Arab Emirates. In fact, decisions about how to reduce dependence on fossil fuels are increasingly being delayed.
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The final text of COP30 confirms the goal set out in the Paris Agreement in 2015, namely keeping the temperature rise below 1.5°C compared to pre-industrial levels, and not exceeding 2. However, according to most scientists, currently this goal is far from being achieved, and even in some formulations of the text, it is acknowledged that it will not be achieved, at least for now.
The agreement also does not mention any concrete plans to eliminate deforestation: a disappointment for many environmental activists following COP30, especially considering that COP30 is being held in a city in the Amazon, a vast rainforest that has experienced massive deforestation for years. The agreement simply reaffirms what was established at 2021’s COP26 in Glasgow, where participating countries committed to allocating $12 billion to push forward policies aimed at stopping deforestation, in addition to $7 billion pledged by private companies.
But one of the successes of the Conference was the agreement to double the funding available to countries most affected by climate change, so that they can undertake initiatives to adapt to this crisis: they will receive 120 billion dollars per year, compared with the allocation of 300 billion dollars by the richest countries set at COP29 last year. However, they will receive it in 2035, and not in 2030, as requested by the beneficiary countries.
Europe’s climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, acknowledged that European ambitions vary, but the agreement should be supported “because at least it is moving in the right direction”. Even COP president, Brazil’s André Corrêa do Lago, acknowledged that expectations were different. However, he promised to continue developing possible plans to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and stop deforestation.
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