August M
COP30 ended amid storms, protests and political splits, with the BBC reporting that the US absence and oil-state resistance shaped a weak final deal. Belém’s Amazon backdrop saw dramatic scenes as delegates left without any global commitment to phase out fossil fuels.
The closing hours of COP30 were dominated not by celebration, but by confusion — flooded corridors, emergency evacuations and negotiators scrambling through humid, storm-battered halls in Belém.
Against that backdrop, delegates confronted a political reality that overshadowed the chaos: the summit would end without a promise to phase out fossil fuels.
Fractured alliances
Instead of the strong language many nations sought, the Mutirão text merely “voluntarily” encourages countries to cut their fossil fuel use faster.
The BBC reported that more than 80 states, including the UK and EU, had spent days pushing for firmer commitments, only to watch oil-producing countries resist any explicit mention of the fuels heating the planet.
Some delegations privately told the BBC they feared the talks might unravel entirely, particularly after the United States declined to send a team for the first time since the Paris Agreement.
President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the treaty, calling climate change “a con”, left a strategic void.
Former German climate envoy Jennifer Morgan told the BBC the absence was a “hole” in the negotiating room, saying lengthy overnight discussions would normally have seen the US counterbalance pressure from major oil states.
Anger from vulnerable nations
Tensions broke through publicly when Colombia condemned the handling of the final plenary. BBC News reported that delegate Daniela Durán González objected to the presidency’s refusal to allow formal challenges to the outcome.
She said the science shows that “more than 75% of the global greenhouse gas emissions come from fossil fuels” and argued the climate convention must finally confront that fact.
Oil states hold firm
Saudi Arabia reiterated during the closing session that “each state must be allowed to build its own path, based on its respective circumstances and economies”. Like other major exporters, it argued that exploiting fossil reserves remains essential for national development — a stance that ultimately shaped what the final text could say.
For many negotiators, the relief was simply that past climate commitments were not rolled back.
Amazon backdrop and unruly scenes
The BBC reported that the summit’s physical setting added its own drama: soaking rains flooded parts of the venue, toilets failed, heat became unbearable, and more than 50,000 registered delegates were evacuated twice.
Security was also breached when roughly 150 protesters forced their way inside with signs reading “our forests are not for sale”.
Despite wanting stronger fossil-fuel language, Brazil used the Belém summit to showcase rainforest protection.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva launched the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, which raised at least $6.5bn by the end of the talks. More than 90 countries also endorsed a global roadmap to curb deforestation.
Reactions from Europe and beyond
Sierra Leone’s climate minister told the BBC the deal “moved the needle” on climate finance, noting clearer expectations for countries with historical emissions.
Yet for the group of nations seeking a firm fossil-fuel phase-out, the end of COP30 felt like another missed moment.
