COP30 Talks End Without Deal to Cut Down Fossil Fuel Use

After weeks of negotiations, delegates managed to agree on a frail, fossil fuel-avoiding deal as COP30 in Belém came to an end.

COP30, a major meeting among delegations from various countries, met in Belém, Brazil, over the past few weeks to discuss possible climate action, preferably as soon as possible. However, the summit was incredibly divided between oil-producing countries and oil-opposing nations, and featured action from several perspectives.

At first, Indigenous tribes struggled to gain representation at the summit, leading to protests outside the grounds. Eventually, tribes broke through the barriers around the COP30 building and forced their way inside, allowing them to attract attention for their cause– the prevention of Amazon deforestation.

Then, several days later, a fire broke out at the venue, leaving at least a dozen people injured due to burns and smoke inhalation.

Throughout the conference, lobbyists for fossil fuels remained a permanent fixture, constantly fighting against any sort of climate action that could cost oil-producing nations. In the end, these nations, such as Saudi Arabia and Russia, were able to stop the committee from passing a major bill to limit fossil fuel production, limiting the conference's benefit to the environment.

In the end, countries were forced to settle for a frail agreement that provides poorer nations with additional finances to be able to adjust to global warming and work to reduce their emissions, but took almost no action to address the root problem– the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by major emitters.

The deal, named the Belém Package, encourages countries to reach their emissions goals and reaffirms the Paris Agreement, signed over 10 years ago, along with calling for wealthy nations to triple their climate investments by 2035. However, the agreement takes almost no legally binding action on any of these issues or the persistent fossil fuel problem, which was prevented by lobbyists and oil-producing countries.

Countries impacted by climate change, like Colombia and Sierra Leone, clearly expressed their disappointment and anger over the lack of an agreement to save the planet. Others placed significant blame on the United States as well – the world's single largest emitter of fossil fuels – who did not send a delegation to COP30 at all.

However, Arab states and Russia were extremely contented with the outcome of the conference, claiming that offsetting the impacts of climate change would eliminate the need for fossil fuels to be phased out.

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Image credit to AP