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Matteo Civillini and Megan Rowling, Climate Home News
On Saturday evening, nations meeting at COP30 in Brazil agreed to launch “limited initiatives to strengthen emissions-cutting plans, as well as tripling finance” for adaptation, reports Climate Home News, but “fell short on the global transition away from oil, gas and coal”. In addition to the final “Belém political package”, the Brazilian presidency promised to create “roadmaps” on transitioning away from fossil fuels and protecting forests, the outlet explains. These were offered “at the eleventh hour” as a compromise solution, the article notes, “after some nations – especially European and Latin American states – voiced disappointment that a formal deal was not reached on one after strong pushback from large fossil-fuel producers led by Saudi Arabia”. Brazil’s roadmap process will sit outside the UN climate regime, the article adds.
After gavelling the deal through, a “weary Brazilian COP30 president Andre Correa do Lago told delegates he recognised the talks had been tough”, reports Reuters. It quotes him as saying: “We know some of you had greater ambitions for some of the issues at hand.” Several countries had objected to the summit ending without stronger plans for reining in greenhouse gases or addressing fossil fuels, the article notes – including Colombia, Panama and Uruguay. A Russian delegate accused those objecting of "behaving like children who want to get their hands on all the sweets”, the newswire says. The comment was “called out by many Latin American delegates who said they were deeply offended by Russia's remarks and defended their role in advocating for their countries' best interests”.
Much of the reporting throughout the weekend focused on how the draft final deal had, in the words of Agence France-Presse (AFP), dropped “any direct mention of a fossil-fuel phaseout”. The meeting ran into overtime as “groups of countries led by the EU and Saudi Arabia clashed over the core issue of quitting fossil fuels”, says the Financial Times. It adds: “The EU and the UK were among those pushing for the reintroduction of previous references to the roadmap in the documents, while Saudi Arabia and Russia led those refusing to countenance it.” BBC News notes that “some developing countries have not backed the deal on fossil fuels because they want richer nations to first deliver on promises to give climate finance”. EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra had warned that the impasse threatened the “reality of a no-deal scenario” at the talks, reports Bloomberg. He added: “How can anyone who is reading [the draft deal] across the world not be deeply disappointed?” Politico reports that Europe was “preparing to veto the final deal”. The Guardian, Associated Press, Reuters, O Globo, El Pais, Sky News and the Washington Post all reported on the “deadlocked” talks.
While “more than 80 countries had initially backed” a fossil-fuel roadmap, the Financial Times says, “by the final night of talks, the EU, UK, Colombia and a handful of other nations remained the driving forces”. It adds: “Many other poorer and middle-income countries are betting that oil and gas will deliver more near-term benefits for their economies even if the long-term consequences of global warming will be devastating.” Despite the lack of ambition, Hoekstra told reporters that the EU would back the deal, AFP reports. The newswire notes the comments of French ecological transition minister Monique Barbut, who said it was a "rather flat text", but Europe would not oppose it because "there is nothing extraordinarily bad in it”. Politico quotes UK energy secretary Ed Miliband, who said a walk-out was “on the edge” at times during the night – “because we just thought actually we've got to be able to look people in the eye”. With the gavel coming down almost 27 hours late, the final eight-page declaration “won grudging acceptance”, reports Bloomberg.
Reporting on the main element of the final deal – called the “mutirão” – can be found pretty much everywhere, including the Associated Press, New York Times, Guardian, BBC News, AFP, Financial Times, Al Jazeera, CNN, Washington Post, Le Monde, Sky News, Deutsche Welle, Axios, Euronews, Los Angeles Times, Sunday Times, BusinessGreen and Daily Mail.
For a comprehensive report and analysis of the entire summit, see Carbon Brief’s in-depth summary.
Jonathan Watts, Oliver Milman, Damian Carrington and Damien Gayle, The Guardian
Following the end of COP30, UN climate chief Simon Stiell has warned that the world is not “winning the climate fight”, but adds that it is “fighting back”, reports the Guardian. Speaking after the final plenary in Belém, Stiell said that “denial, division and geopolitics has dealt international cooperation some heavy blows this year”, but “amid the gale-force political headwinds, 194 countries stood firm in solidarity – rock solid in support of climate cooperation”, the article reports. The newspaper notes that the summit “produced decisions on dozens of issues, including a promise to triple adaptation funding to protect communities against climate impacts, an agreement for a just transition mechanism (JTM) and recognition of the rights of Indigenous people”. The article also quotes UN secretary general, António Guterres, who said: “I cannot pretend that COP30 has delivered everything that is needed. The gap between where we are and what science demands remains dangerously wide.”
There is widespread reporting on the key “takeaways” from the summit – examples include the Associated Press, BBC News, Reuters and Bloomberg. Reuters also has what COP30 “delivered for forests and Indigenous people”, while the Guardian has “five threats to climate progress that dogged COP30”. Others have collected reactions to the final deal, such as AFP, Al Jazeera, BusinessGreen, Climate Home News and Backchannel. AFP also carries quotes from the Alliance of Small Island States, which said the final deal was “imperfect, but necessary for progress”.
Hou Liqiang, China Daily
China has welcomed the mutirão element of the deal reached at COP30, describing it as a “hard-won” outcome, reports state-run newspaper China Daily. It quotes delegation head Li Gao saying the decision demonstrates “strong political will” to “work together” on climate. Li tells Agence France-Presse he was “happy with the outcome”. The Paper, a Shanghai-based outlet, interviews climate envoy Liu Zhenmin, who says: “Some nations proposed roadmaps solely focused on ‘fossil-fuel phaseout’ without concurrently considering renewable energy development. This approach is unfeasible and would severely undermine national energy security, economic growth and social stability.”
An article in the print edition of Communist party-affiliated newspaper People’s Daily under the byline “Heyin” – denoting a reflection of the party’s views on international affairs – says China will “accelerate” its energy transition, but that “developed countries should also shoulder their historical responsibilities”. A commentary in state news agency Xinhua under the byline “Xinhua” says “too often, the west’s ambitious rhetoric [on climate] is not matched by meaningful follow-through”. The Global Times, Science and Technology Daily, China News, 21st Century Business Herald, Xinhua and Huxiu also cover COP30 outcomes.
Mongabay says a “routine partnership” on climate between China and India has become a “central force in holding together” COP30 negotiations. China and India spearheaded an “increasingly aligned push” at COP30 for “more climate finance and fairer rules”, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reports. Bloomberg says that “there’s little evidence” of China’s “leadership” at COP30. The Africa Report says tensions between developed countries and emerging economies, including “China and Saudi Arabia”, have left African countries “without crucial climate finance”.
MORE ON CHINA
G20 countries will “boost Africa’s energy transition with [a] financial commitment”, China Daily reports. The G20 also “called for greater protection of critical minerals from unilateral trade actions”, seemingly in “reference to China”, Bloomberg says. China’s power consumption increased 10% year-on-year in October and 5% this year to date, BJX News says.
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