TL;DR
- Countries at COP30 have agreed on a draft deal to expedite climate action, although no consensus was reached on key issues regarding fossil fuels and forests.
- The negotiations extended into overtime amid disagreements primarily between the EU and oil-producing nations like Saudi Arabia, but were ultimately resolved through intensive talks.
- The European Union’s climate commissioner acknowledged the deal as a step in the right direction, highlighting the longstanding challenge of collaborating among over 190 countries on climate issues.
COP30: Countries reach draft deal to help speed up climate action | Science, Climate & Tech News
Countries attending COP30, the biggest climate meeting of the year, have agreed steps to help speed up climate action, according to a draft deal.
However, the summit’s president Andre Correa do Lago said “roadmaps” on fossil fuels and forests would be published as there was no consensus on these issues.
The annual United Nations conference brings together world leaders, scientists, campaigners, and negotiators from across the globe, who agree on collective next steps for tackling climate change.
The two-week conference in the Amazon city was due to end at 6pm local time (9pm UK time) on Friday, but it dragged into overtime.
The standoff was between the EU, which pressed for language on transitioning away from fossil fuels, and the Arab Group of nations, including major oil exporter Saudi Arabia, which opposed it.
The impasse was resolved following all-night talks led by Brazil, negotiators said.
The European Union’s climate commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, said on Saturday that the proposed accord was acceptable, even though the bloc would have liked more.
“We should support it because at least it is going in the right direction,” he said.
The Brazilian presidency scheduled a closing plenary session.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and about 80 countries, including the UK and coal-rich Colombia, had been pushing for a plan on how to “transition away from fossil fuels”.
This is a pledge all countries agreed to two years ago at COP28 – then did very little about since.
But scores of countries – including major oil and gas producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia – see this push as too prescriptive or a threat to their economies.
UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told Sky News on Friday that while the UN climate talks are a “nightmare”, they are the “best process we’ve got”.
The annual COP talks are “so hard” because they see more than 190 countries negotiating over the future of their economies, oceans and forests, he said.
But he pointed to achievements from the three decades of talks, including lowering expected global warming by a substantial margin, and the fact that around 80% of global GBP is now covered by a net-zero climate target.
Mr Miliband said: “So it’s painful, it’s painstaking, it makes you tear your hair out, but it does represent progress.
“This is a global problem; we’ve got to have global cooperation to tackle it.”