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COP30: Drama in Belém But Limited Progress
- Armelle Le Comte
- Dec 5
- 3 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
Protests by Indigenous groups, a fire inside the venue, and frantic last-minute negotiations to avert collapse - COP30 was anything but dull!
Amid global geopolitical tensions, there was at least some reassurance in seeing all countries - except the United States - reaffirm their commitment to multilateralism and the Paris Agreement.
While there was no backsliding, the deal reached on the doorstep of the Amazon fell short of the “implementation COP” Brazil had hoped to deliver.
Fossil Fuels Under the Spotlight
After COP29 failed to mention fossil fuels, the energy transition dominated discussions in Belém. More than 80 countries - collectively responsible for just 7% of global fossil fuel production - supported the idea of a global roadmap to phase out fossil fuels.
But major producers, led by Saudi Arabia, once again blocked attempts to include ambitious language on a fossil fuel transition in the final decision.
In the absence of a global agreement, Brazil proposed creating voluntary roadmaps outside the UN climate regime.
A coalition of 24 countries endorsed the Belém Declaration on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, outlining principles for a just and equitable transition.
A further bright spot came from Colombia, which announced it will co-host with the Netherlands the first global conference on fossil fuel transition in April 2026. Notably, it will take place in Santa Marta, a port city deeply tied to coal exports.
Coming out of COP30, 116 countries have now submitted their national climate plans.
Timid Progress on Adaptation and Climate Finance
COP30 reaffirmed the financial goals established last year in Baku:
US$300 billion annually by 2035 from developed to developing countries
A broader target of US$1.3 trillion annually by 2035, mobilised from all sources
Often described as the “forgotten sibling”, adaptation took center stage in Belém.
The most vulnerable nations fought hard for a tripling of adaptation finance. They secured this commitment, but only by 2035 instead of 2030, and without a clear numerical target. Whether developed countries will actually deliver remains an open question.
The EU faced criticism throughout the summit for weak financial pledges, and with the United States withdrawing, Europe is pushing to expand the pool of donor countries to include oil-rich states and China.
COP30 was also expected to finalise indicators for the Global Goal on Adaptation, but negotiators failed to produce a coherent framework. Sierra Leone’s environment minister, Jiwoh Abdulai, described the proposed indicators as “unclear, unmeasurable and - in many cases - unusable.”
Tensions Over Trade, Deforestation, and Gender
Trade emerged as one of the most contentious issues. The COP30 decision states that measures to address climate change “including unilateral ones, should not constitute arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade.”
This language reflects ongoing criticism from developing countries and China toward the EU’s border carbon tax and other climate-linked trade policies.
Despite Brazil’s strong push, no global deal to end deforestation was reached in Belém.
The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), launched with fanfare at the start of the summit, raised US$6.7 billion, well short of the US$25 billion required to fully operationalise the initiative. Conceived as a blended finance mechanism, the TFFF aims to direct investment returns toward countries protecting tropical forests.
On gender, negotiators finally agreed on an updated Gender Action Plan, which includes commitments to use sex-disaggregated data and integrate gender considerations into national climate policies. This followed intense disputes over the definition of “gender,” with conservative states such as the Vatican and Argentina pushing to restrict the term to “biological sex.”
Singapore at COP30
In Belém, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu announced that Singapore will develop its first national adaptation plan over the next five years.
Singapore was busy on the carbon market front: the country committed to about 2 million tonnes of high-quality nature-based carbon credits under Article 6 from countries including Ghana, Paraguay and Peru, launched new carbon-credit project calls under agreements with Bhutan and Thailand, and signed a MOU with Malawi.
Under the theme “Interwoven Purpose, Regenerating Tomorrow”, the Singapore Pavilion hosted a mix of panels, workshops, roundtables and youth sessions, with over 60 partner organisations.
For the first time ever at a COP, there was an ASEAN Pavilion in partnership with the European Union and Germany.
An Unusual Setup for COP31
After a three-year rivalry, Australia and Turkey reached an unexpected compromise: COP31 will be hosted by Turkey in the city of Antalya, while Australia will hold the presidency (Nov 9-20, 2026). As part of Australia’s original bid - with Pacific Island nations - next year’s pre-COP meeting will be held in a Pacific Island country.
How this unusual arrangement will function in practice remains to be seen. Before this was even agreed, countries decided that COP32 will take place in 2027 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
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