UN climate summit pushes into overtime as nations clash over fossil fuels

Summary

• UN climate talks in Brazil faced deadlock as oil-producing nations resisted a fossil fuel phaseout, leading to a potential collapse of the agreement.
• Over 30 countries demanded a fossil fuel transition plan, but resistance from Russia, Saudi Arabia, India and other emerging nations blocked progress.
• Disputes also arose over financial aid for developing nations and the EU's carbon tax, with negotiations further complicated by a fire at the venue.

BELEM, Brazil – Negotiators pushed into overtime on Nov 21 to salvage UN climate talks in Brazil as a bitter fight over whether to mention fossil fuels threatened to derail a final agreement.

At stake at COP30 is securing a deal that paves the way for faster cuts to planet-warming emissions that are driving ever more extreme weather – and proving that international cooperation can still function in a fractured world.

After nearly two weeks of negotiations in the Amazonian city of Belem, a new draft agreement unveiled by COP30 host Brazil made no mention of “fossil fuels” or the word “road map” that Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had himself publicly supported.

European Union (EU) climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said the text was “unacceptable” and that the summit risked ending without an agreement.

“I am saying it with a heavy heart, but what is now on the table is clearly no deal,” Mr Hoekstra told reporters as negotiators huddled again in efforts to reach a compromise.

Thirty-six countries – including wealthy nations, emerging economies and small island states – had warned in a letter to Brazil that they would reject any deal that did not include a plan to move away from fossil fuels.

France’s ecological transition minister, Ms Monique Barbut, told AFP that oil-rich Russia and Saudi Arabia, along with coal producer India and “many” emerging countries, were blocking a deal on fossil fuels.

Mr Arunabha Ghosh, a special envoy for South Asia at the talks, shot back against “finger pointing”.

“To assume that one side cares about the planet and the other side, because they are unhappy with the formulation, does not care about the planet does grievous harm to the spirit of negotiations,” he told AFP.

Mr Ghosh also defended the exclusion of the fossil fuel phaseout roadmap, arguing developing countries needed to ensure energy security for their countries and a transition for workers dependent on the sector.

Consensus is needed among the nearly 200 nations to land an agreement at the UN climate conference, which in 2025 is taking place without the United States as US President Donald Trump shunned the event.

The head of COP30, Brazilian diplomat Andre Correa do Lago, said ruefully that those who doubt that cooperation is the best way forward for climate change “are going to be absolutely delighted to see that we cannot reach an agreement between us”.

The conference, which was disrupted for several hours by a fire
at the site on Nov 20, was supposed to end on the evening of Nov 21 at 6pm (5am on Nov 22, Singapore time) – a time that came and went, as is often the case at such summits.

Money fight

The push for a phaseout of oil, coal and gas – the main drivers of global warming – grew out of frustration over a lack of follow-through on the COP28 agreement in Dubai in 2023 to transition away from fossil fuels.

Divisions also remain over trade measures and finance for poorer nations to adapt to the impacts of climate change, such as floods and droughts, and move to a low-carbon future.

The rejected draft said there was a need for a “(manifold) increase” in financial support for developing countries. It also called for “efforts to triple adaptation finance” by 2030 compared to 2025 levels.

“The EU is stuck with a much earlier tripling of adaptation finance than they’re comfortable with and in exchange they got nothing,” said Mr Jake Schmidt, senior strategic director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an advocacy group.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow,” Mr Schmidt told AFP.

Mr Hoekstra said the EU was “willing to be ambitious on adaptation” but that “any language on finance should squarely be within the commitment reached last year” at COP29 in Baku, where developed nations agreed to provide US$300 billion (S$400 billion) in annual climate finance by 2035.

The EU is also fighting resistance led by China and India to its “carbon tax” on imports such as steel, aluminium, cement and fertilisers – measures Britain and Canada are also preparing to adopt. AFP