BELEM, Brazil: Brazil’s president pushed negotiators on Wednesday for faster progress at the COP30 summit, aiming to secure an early deal on some of the most divisive issues in global climate diplomacy from fossil fuel transition to climate finance.
The two-week U.N. summit in the Amazon city of Belem has brought together nearly 200 countries to accelerate action on limiting global warming, even as the United States, the world’s largest historic emitter remains notably absent.
Host nation Brazil hopes to reverse the recent trend of climate summits dragging well past their deadlines. The COP30 presidency aims to endorse a preliminary package of agreements later on Wednesday, with remaining issues to be concluded by Friday.
A fresh draft of the initial agreement was expected early Wednesday, though none had been released by late morning. The first version published Tuesday laid out several options that sharply divided negotiators.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva returned to the summit on Wednesday, according to Brazilian officials, injecting renewed political momentum. He was expected to meet key negotiators and U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres to help bridge gaps in the talks.
Brazil, backed by about 80 nations, is pushing for commitments that would accelerate action on the COP28 pledge to transition away from fossil fuels. However, attempts to craft a clear roadmap for that transition have been rejected by some countries, COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago said on Tuesday.
Vanuatu’s climate minister Ralph Regenvanu told WNN that “blockers,” including Saudi Arabia, are resisting the proposal. Saudi Arabia has yet to respond to requests for comment.
“I think it’s going to be very difficult … because we’ve got blockers,” Regenvanu said.
Another major hurdle involves securing agreement on how wealthy nations will finance the energy transition in developing countries, an issue tied to long-standing gaps between climate pledges and what science requires to stop global temperatures from rising further.
Poorer nations, already experiencing the worst effects of climate change, are pushing for a robust outcome.
“We want ambition on finance. We want ambition on adaptation. We want to see ambition on the transition,” Sierra Leone’s climate minister Jiwoh Abdulai told WNN. “And we want to ensure that we leave here on a path that is sustainable, not just for this generation, but for future generations.”
Meanwhile, plans to launch a U.N.-backed global carbon offset market have stalled as governments clash over how to fund its operational rollout, according to five sources who spoke with WNN.
- Lisandra Abnett
