Delegates at the UN COP30 climate summit in Belém are struggling to craft the final text of the decision. The conference is seen as a crucial test of progress under the Paris Agreement and a chance to devise mechanisms for a faster transition to a low-carbon economy. The sharpest disputes center on the future of fossil fuels, the scale of support for vulnerable nations, and the pace of adaptation to the impacts of global warming. Against this backdrop, the draft outcome document—now widely discussed—has drawn criticism from several delegations for its vague language and the lack of clear benchmarks for phasing out oil, gas and coal.
The draft final document of the UN climate summit—still subject to approval—proposes only limited steps to tackle climate change and, in effect, offers no meaningful commitments to phase out fossil fuels, the main driver of global warming.
Such an outcome would be a disappointment for European countries and low-lying Pacific states, which have insisted that COP30 should conclude with a call to accelerate the global phaseout of coal, oil and gas. A decision on the deal is expected on Saturday morning.
As confirmed by a person familiar with the negotiations, the document retains a reference to the 2023 agreement on moving away from fossil fuels—even though the fuels themselves are not mentioned in the draft. Gulf states, whose economies rely on oil exports, had pushed to remove this point from the official record of climate talks. The source spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the details of the draft.
The proposal also envisions a meeting next year “to exchange experiences and views on related issues” — a veiled reference to a potential roadmap for the post-fossil-fuel era. The document further records an agreement to triple by 2035 the financing needed by poorer countries to adapt to the severe impacts of climate change. This exceeds the levels developed nations were prepared to accept, yet for countries that pushed for a 2030 deadline, the measures fall far short amid the devastating droughts, floods and fires driven by a warming planet.
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The draft also calls for a series of meetings on trade issues, a move that may unsettle European countries that have introduced carbon border measures and provoked irritation among major emerging economies.
The COP30 negotiations, now stretching into their second week, are unfolding under the shadow of Washington’s withdrawal from the 2015 Paris climate accord. The Trump administration has sent no delegation and is expected to reject any final document. As a result, the most contentious discussions have taken place without the involvement of the world’s largest economy, which has traditionally acted as a broker at such summits.