COP30 ends in turmoil as Colombia objects to final deal
COP30 in Belem, Brazil, descended into uncertainty on Saturday after Colombia blocked the closing session. The country argued that the final deal failed to mention a transition away from fossil fuels.
The plenary was suspended when Colombian delegate Diana Mejia said the agreement offered “no real mitigation” without addressing fossil fuels, which produce nearly 75 per cent of global emissions. Colombia claimed its objections were ignored as COP30 president Andre Correa do Lago moved to approve the text.
Earlier on Saturday, almost 200 countries had applauded what they thought was a consensus deal. The agreement promises faster climate action and a tripling of finance for developing nations by 2035, but drops any call to phase out fossil fuels, even though this was a key demand of the EU and dozens of other nations.
EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra said the bloc accepted the text “reluctantly”, arguing it still “moves in the right direction”. Oil-producing countries, led by Saudi Arabia, resisted stronger language. The absence of the United States weakened pressure for a fossil-fuel phase-out.
Brazil had said it will publish separate non-binding “roadmaps” on fossil fuels and forests after negotiators failed to reach consensus on the phase-out.
The last-minute dispute leaves the outcome of COP30 unclear.
COP30 president Andre Correa do Lago listens to COP30 CEO Ana Toni alongside advisers before the start of the plenary session at the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belem © Pablo PORCIUNCULA / AFP