COP30 Bulletin: Brazil outlines options for possible deal in Belém
Last Monday, to get the COP30 agenda agreed, Brazil promised to hold consultations on four controversial issues: emissions-cutting, transparency, trade and finance. Last night, after most delegates had spent their day off exploring the Amazon, the presidency released a five-page document capturing what was said in those consultations.
Nothing in that “summary note” has been agreed by countries. But it collects together divergent views and forms the basis of what could become a politically agreed statement on those issues that lack a negotiating home. It has three key strands on boosting climate finance, strengthening emissions reductions and tackling trade measures linked to decarbonisation.
The COP30 presidency told journalists on Monday afternoon that a first draft would be presented to countries – whose environment ministers are now in town – at some point on Tuesday, and said there would be two “packages” this week: one dealing with the four homeless issues and another for negotiated items such as adaptation and just transition.
The summary note includes key rhetorical messages the COP30 presidency wants to include – that this is a “COP of Truth”, multilateralism is alive (despite President Trump’s efforts to thwart climate action) and the Paris Agreement is now moving from negotiation to implementation.
On emissions-cutting and the need to raise ambition – sorely lacking after the latest round of national climate plans (NDCs) – the note includes an option to hold an annual review and explore the “opportunities, barriers and enablers” to achieve the global efforts agreed at COP28 in Dubai to triple renewable energy and double energy efficiency by 2030; accelerate action to transition away from fossil fuels; and halt and reverse deforestation. This is essentially where any reference to a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels could be anchored.
At the climate talks in Belém, governments are considering whether to launch a process to craft a roadmap and how that might look
UN climate chief Simon Stiell tells governments “to give a little to get a lot”, as many thorny issues remain for ministers to resolve next week
The document also includes proposals to “urge” developed nations to include finance in their NDC climate plans and “encourage” all countries that have set a range of percentage emissions reductions in their NDCs – like the EU’s 66.25-72.5% – to move toward the upper end of the range.
On finance, options include a three-year work programme on provision of finance by wealthy governments and a goal to triple adaptation finance (something the least-developed countries are pushing for) or just repeating the finance goal agreed at COP29 and “noting” a new roadmap to achieve that (which rich nations very much prefer).
There are also various options for how to talk about where climate and trade overlap: an annual dialogue, roundtables, consultations, a new platform or just to keep discussing in the ‘response measures’ strand of climate talks.
Li Shuo, head of the Asia Society Policy Institute’s China Climate Hub, told Climate Home News it was highly significant that – after two years of the issue being buried in climate talks – trade has now been “anchored in the endgame of this COP”.
The various potential outcomes in the summary note could be included in existing agenda items or they could be lumped together into what the Brazilian government says could be called a “mutirão decision” or a delivery, response or global action plan.
Essentially, after governments ignored the presidency’s pleas not to add contentious items to the agenda, it looks like they could get at least some of what they want by turning those issues into the headline deal from COP30 .
At the start of the high-level segment of the conference on Monday morning, where environment ministers deliver their speeches, UN climate chief Simon Stiell urged governments “to get to the hardest issues fast”.
“When these issues get pushed deep into extra time, everybody loses. We absolutely cannot afford to waste time on tactical delays or stone-walling,” he added.
Korea joins coal phase-out coalition at COP30
As fossil fuels have grabbed headlines at COP30, major coal producer South Korea kicked off the second week of the Belém conference with an actual concrete pledge: the country will phase out most of its coal power by 2040.
Operating the seventh-largest coal fleet in the world, Korea announced on Monday that it will join the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA), an initiative launched in 2017 by the UK and Canada to encourage countries to wean themselves off the planet’s largest source of emissions. Oil and gas exporter Bahrain is another new member.
Asian industrial giant Korea said that out of 62 operating coal power plants, it will commit to retiring 40 of them by 2040. The phase-out date of the remaining 22 plants “will be determined based on economic and environmental feasibility”.
The 2040 deadline is dependent on external support, but the phase-out will still be achieved unconditionally in the 2040s, according to the country’s updated NDC
Six farmers are seeking compensation from South Korea’s KEPCO, arguing its fossil fuel emissions have contributed to economic and emotional harm
The EU, UK and Canada wanted fellow OECD members to commit to stop supporting foreign fossil fuels before Donald Trump takes over as US president
Korean Minister of Environment Kim Sung-Hwan said at an event announcing the pledge that the country will play a “leading role” in the energy transition.
“South Korea is known as a manufacturing powerhouse. Unfortunately renewable energy has taken a low share in our power mix, but going forward we are determined to foster renewable energy industries,” he told journalists. “We will show the world that we can create a decarbonised energy transition.”
Asked about a fossil fuel transition roadmap – an idea floated around by many governments in Belém – Sung-Hwan said “humanity and all of the governments should work together to achieve a decarbonised green transition”, adding that “COP30 will be an important momentum”.
UK climate minister Katie White said Korea was taking an “ambitious step”, and that they can “reap the rewards that we are seeing from our own clean energy transition”.
Despite a slight drop in recent years, coal remains South Korea’s biggest source of electricity generation, providing about a third of its power. Nuclear and gas supply most of the rest.
Row over climate funds for wealthy developing countries
A dispute at last month’s Green Climate Fund board meeting resurfaced in ministers’ speeches at COP30 today, with developing countries crying foul over a decision by some developed nations to deny Oman funds for an early-warning system because of its above-average GDP per capita.
Five developed countries – the UK, France, Sweden, Switzerland and Denmark – opposed giving Oman a $15-million grant. Eighteen countries on the Fund’s board – including several developed countries – had wanted to give Oman the funds, but the GCF’s high bar for decisions meant they were out-voted.
France’s representative told the meeting Oman was a “high-income country whose GDP per capita is equivalent to that of some EU member states”, saying that meant giving the Gulf state scarce GCF grants was “simply not acceptable”. Exceptions to this rule can, however, be made for small island developing states, he added.
That argument was criticised by fellow board members, with the Saudi and Ghanaian representatives saying it amounted to “discrimination”, while Pakistan’s envoy accused countries of using “political considerations”, which he did not spell out.
At today’s “high-level segment”, Palau’s Environment Minister Steven Victor, for the Alliance of Small Island States, criticised “arbitrary conditions based on per capita incomes and population size by some board members”. Iraq’s environment minister, speaking on behalf of the G77+China, expressed “great concern” about “a minority of [GCF] board members representing a few developed countries” blocking the funds for Oman.