MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

No consensus yet at COP30

COP30 has already delivered three landmark declarations, but no joint final statement as of Friday

As the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) reached its scheduled closing time of 11:50 PM on Friday, negotiations for the final document, known as the Belém Package, had not concluded. Talks were expected to extend into the early hours of Saturday.

A major point of frustration for civil society groups and several countries was the absence of a clear roadmap for the gradual phase-out of fossil fuels (oil and coal), which are deemed the primary causes of global warming. Environmental activists, such as the Climate Observatory, have criticized the draft text for lacking the ambition to meet the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. They argue the proposal under discussion favored the interests of oil-producing nations, as it does not mention fossil fuels at all.

The Brazilian government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva heavily pushed for a text that included a schedule for this energy transition, which ultimately did not materialize in the draft.

A group of 29 countries, including Germany, France, the UK, Colombia, and vulnerable island nations like the Marshall Islands and Vanuatu, reacted by demanding an immediate revision of the text, insisting they could not support an outcome without a roadmap for a “just, orderly, and equitable transition.”

Despite the major deadlock on fossil fuels, some progress was achieved in other areas, particularly in adaptation (actions to make communities more resilient to extreme weather), notably through the listing of 59 indicators, known as GGA (Global Goal on Adaptation), thus calling for international financing from developed to developing countries. The so-called Belém to Addis Process was highlighted to align adaptation policies and introduce safeguards for implementation.

On the matter of indigenous rights, Brazil's mitigation program gained recognition from native peoples and traditional communities over their territories as a long-term policy to combat climate change.

Additionally, significant progress was made on the Just Transition Work Program towards a multilateral instrument under the UNFCCC Secretariat to promote actions on a fair transition.

In the face of divergences, both the COP30 President, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged countries throughout the day to find consensus and deliver concrete results. (See also: COP30 chairman calls for consensus - extension due to fire not unlikely )

COP30 has already delivered three landmark declarations: on green industrialization, information integrity, and social justice/forest protection, but no joint final statement as of Friday.