After a series of all-night meetings and fears the summit could collapse, an agreement has been gavelled through at Cop30 in Belém, Brazil. The deal, while close to collapse, demonstrated that multilateral cooperation between 194 states can work even in a world in geopolitical turmoil.
Nations agreed to triple funding for adaptation – the money provided by rich nations for vulnerable countries – but the goal of roughly $120bn a year was pushed back five years to 2035. Fossil fuels were not mentioned in the key final decision, as petrostates including Saudi Arabia and allies fought fiercely to keep that out.
A commitment to a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels was not part of the formal deal, but Brazil backed an initiative outside the UN process, building on a plan backed by Colombia and about 90 other nations. A similar roadmap to end deforestation was also backed by about 90 nations. Brazil launched the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, an investment fund that will pay nations to keep trees standing.
A big outcome was the agreement of a Just Transition Mechanism, a plan to ensure the move to a green economy takes place fairly and protects the rights of all people, including workers, women and indigenous people. Efforts to attach funding to it failed. An “accelerator” programme was established to address the emissions gap, reporting back at next year’s Cop in Turkey.
There was drama when the main plenary meeting was stopped after countries complained the Cop chair, André Corrêa do Lago, was gavelling through texts without letting countries speak. He later apologised. The UN’s chief climate envoy Simon Stiell said: “I’m not saying we’re winning the climate fight. But we are undeniably still in it, and we are fighting back.”
Despite being styled as the “Indigenous Cop”, with an estimated 2,500 Indigenous people attending, Emil Gualinga of the Kichwa peoples of Sarayaku, Ecuador, said Indigenous participation remained limited. He noted that the militarisation of the summit showed Indigenous peoples are still viewed as threats.
