COP30 / Brazil's removal of "fossil fuels" content sparks controversy; multiple countries jointly send a letter to the chairman expressing their concerns.
The 30th United Nations Climate Change SummitCOP30The negotiations were interrupted by a fire on Thursday (November 20), causing chaos and delaying the meeting until Friday (November 21). However, controversy erupted afterward when the latest draft agreement completely removed the section on “gradually phasing out fossil fuels,” sparking discontent from many countries. At least 29 countries, including the next chair Australia and the UK, have jointly written to the council criticizing the revised draft as unacceptable.
According to multiple media reports, the conference, hosted by Brazil, held its closing plenary session on the evening of the 21st. However, the latest draft completely omitted fossil fuels, a key issue in carbon reduction. This is a far cry from the progress previously expected and contradicts Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s repeated public support for “developing a gradual decarbonization roadmap.”
According to the joint letter from multiple countries, they expressed deep concern about the draft and stated that the version failed to meet the minimum requirements of COP30 outcomes. They also emphasized that if the final document fails to explicitly include a “fair, orderly, and equitable roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels,” it will constitute a serious setback for climate governance.
Looking back, the phrase “transition away from fossil fuels” was first included in the COP28 summit hosted by Dubai in 2022, hailed as a historic breakthrough. However, last year’s COP29 did not continue this trend, leading to expectations for further progress at this year’s summit. Notably, due to strong backlash from major oil-producing countries, the decarbonization clause was ultimately removed from the draft despite support from over 80 countries.
Omoniyi Joseph Abiodun Babawale, representative of Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, frankly stated, “For developing countries, economic and energy transitions must go hand in hand. We can gradually reduce [energy consumption], but we cannot immediately abandon it.” He emphasized that Nigeria has already launched new energy development programs, aiming to transition within 10 years.
Meanwhile, other key aspects of the draft, namely “climate finance” and the “1.5°C temperature reduction” target, also performed poorly. The document mostly used the word “calls” and lacked substantive constraints and specific figures, thus being criticized as “weak and ineffective.”
According to statistics from the climate think tank Carbon Brief, only three of the past 30 climate summits have concluded on time, the last being the 2003 Milan Summit. If this summit fails to conclude within the scheduled time, the Brazilian government’s initial stance of “no postponement” may be undermined.
Representatives from various countries were not optimistic about the atmosphere of the negotiations that would last for the next few hours. If the Bureau does not include specific decarbonization commitments in the final agreement, COP30 may end in disappointment and severely damage the foundation of trust in global climate governance.