Crandi

At Cop30 Global Solidarity Fades And Vulnerable Communities Are Left

Leo Migdal
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at cop30 global solidarity fades and vulnerable communities are left

Belem, Brazil, November 23, 2025 – COP30 has failed to live up to the spirit of mutirão—the global solidarity needed to confront the accelerating climate crisis. The outcome In Belem exposes critical gaps in ambition and political will. Adaptation finance remains insufficient and there is no certainty about the – in principle – agreed scale-up leaving vulnerable countries with little support to bear the brunt of an already changed climate they had... Despite broad recognition that adaptation to the impacts of climate change is critical, developing countries’ demand to triple adaptation finance to at least $120 billion a year by 2030 remains unmet as developed countries... At the same time, the outcome provides no clear roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels, threatening the fault line of 1.5°C: without stronger action now, the world is heading towards high temperatures where... The absence of a clear signal to phase out fossil fuels undermines any prospect of a fair and effective global and just transition.

COP30 delivered a new Belém Gender Action Plan — an important step forward, but without real finance or accountability, women and girls on the frontlines are still left waiting for meaningful support. CARE remains concerned that governments are not moving beyond rhetoric and are failing to deliver predictable, grant-based finance, a credible pathway away from fossil fuels, and climate plans that reflect the urgency of the... CASTRIES, St Lucia, December 1 (IPS) - Caribbean small island states say this year’s UN climate conference has once again failed to deliver the urgency and ambition needed to tackle escalating climate devastation across... From slow-moving climate finance to frustrating political gridlock, leaders say COP30 did not reflect the realities that small islands are living through every day. Jamaica is recovering from Hurricane Melissa, which left over 30 percent of the country’s GDP in losses and billions of dollars in damage. While the country has been able to respond rapidly thanks to a suite of innovative developmental finance tools, including a USD 150 million catastrophe bond, parametric insurance and a disaster savings fund, its Minister...

Speaking at a press conference organized by Island Innovation and themed “Islands, the Climate Finance Gap, and COP30 Reflections,” Samuda said this is precisely why global negotiations must center the lived experiences of SIDS. “I think I perhaps may be a little more disappointed than I am usually at the end of a COP because seeing what Jamaica is going through, seeing what Vietnam is going through, seeing... For many small islands and territories, simply participating meaningfully at COP30 was an uphill battle. The British Virgin Islands, like other Caribbean territories, had to rely on partners, including the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre for accreditation and access to the negotiations. Climate Action Network International (CAN) welcomes the adoption of the Just Transition mechanism as one of the strongest rights-based outcomes in the history of the UN climate negotiations. At the same time, CAN warns that COP30 has produced weak outcomes in the very areas that are critical to ensuring justice for vulnerable and frontline communities.

A dangerously weak outcome on Adaptation finance leaves little hope for impacted communities. Further adding to this injustice, governments did not deliver a concrete global response plan to address the ambition gap, and only agreed to have further processes to address this gap including on a just,... We need implementation that includes finance to urgently address the root cause of the climate crisis. The real faultline running through COP30 was the refusal of developed countries to agree to the provision of finance across all areas. Their blocking of commitments on Adaptation finance, mitigation ambition, and the transition away from fossil fuels directly weakened the overall outcome. By once again failing to meet their climate-finance obligations – obligations grounded in historical responsibility – developed countries have undermined trust and fairness in the process and limited what this COP could have achieved.

The Just Transition mechanism stands as the major achievement of COP30 and for workers and communities across the world. More ambition on climate is possible if we put social justice at the heart. No COP decision has ever carried such ambitious and comprehensive language on rights and inclusion: human rights; labour rights; the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Afro-decendants; and strong references to gender equality, women’s empowerment, education,... This outcome did not happen by accident. This is the result of the hard fought struggles and collective power of trade unions, communities, social movements, Indigenous Peoples’ organisations, and civil society over many years and especially escalating this year for an... Statement by Debbie Hillier, Mercy Corps UNFCCC Policy Lead:

“COP30 was a failure for the communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Ten years after the Paris Agreement — in what was meant to be the 'implementation COP' — leaders left Belém, Brazil, without the commitments needed to protect people already living with the devastating consequences... Despite record-breaking losses, escalating humanitarian need, and clear evidence that adaptation finance is dangerously insufficient, negotiators failed to deliver the scale of action this moment demands. “Communities facing climate impacts urgently needed COP30 to deliver stronger mitigation ambition, a just transition away from fossil fuels, and — most critically — a substantial increase in adaptation finance. Instead, the final text made no progress towards transitioning away from fossil fuels, despite countries committing to this two years ago in Dubai. While a global agreement is preferable, Colombia and the Netherlands are showing real leadership by agreeing to co-host the first International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels.

This will be an important space to identify the necessary pathways to phase out fossil fuels, which will be incorporated in a roadmap, to be drafted by Brazil, ahead of COP31. “If the world fails to reduce emissions and mitigate the crisis, the cost of adaptation will continue to rise, and climate-vulnerable communities will continue to suffer the consequences. “Adaptation finance is not abstract. It determines whether farmers can protect their crops, whether coastal communities can reinforce shorelines, whether health systems can withstand climate-related disease outbreaks, and whether countries can build resilience rather than lose hard-won development gains. In response to the latest ‘Mutirão’ text, Nafkote Dabi, Oxfam International Climate Policy Lead, said: “As COP30 races toward its close, world leaders are gambling with the planet — and with the lives of the poorest.

Rich countries are treating adaptation finance as a bargaining chip. Yet adaptation finance is a lifeline for all people, from farmers facing failed harvests to families already uprooted by climate disasters. “Rich nations must commit at least $120 billion per year in post‑2025 adaptation finance, alongside raising the outstanding funds to meet the $300 billion annual climate finance goal agreed last year. Anything less leaves frontline communities dangerously exposed. “It is unacceptable that the new text does not include developing a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels and lacks any teeth in responding to a dangerous ambition gap resulting from the weak climate... A roadmap is essential, and it must be just, equitable, and backed by real support for the Global South.

Developed countries who grew wealthy on their fossil fuel-based economies must phase out first and fastest, while financing low‑carbon pathways for the Global South.” Additionally, Viviana Santiago, Oxfam Brasil Executive Director, said: Leaders at COP30 in Brazil failed to agree to place people over profits as a lack of unity, accountability and transparency chipped away at delivering the urgent and effective climate action needed, though there... The headliner COP30 ‘Global Mutirão’ decision’ intended to bring global consensus on a range of priority climate actions during this summit billed as the “COP of truth.” Yet the final document avoided any mention... The fractious finale failed to garner consensus on a much-needed package including concrete plans for a fossil fuel phase out and an end to deforestation, as well as scaled up grants-based support for lower... Climate finance provision is an obligation for high-income countries that lower income countries have for years been demanding be fulfilled, particularly to provide much more support to help them adapt to devastating current and...

“The COP30 Brazilian Presidency had vowed to ensure no one is left behind and every voice is heard and made strenuous efforts to broaden participation, which should be replicated. Yet the lack of participatory, inclusive, and transparent negotiations left both civil society and Indigenous Peoples, who answered the global mutirão call in large numbers, out of the real decision making. At the same time, a record number of fossil fuel lobbyists at COP30 showed who had the real access, leaving humanity, especially those already the most marginalized, to suffer the deadly consequences of their... “Nevertheless, people power, including by Indigenous Peoples, among them those on whose ancestral lands the conference took place, was out in force. Refusing to surrender to setbacks, it was instrumental in achieving a commitment to develop a Just Transition mechanism that will streamline and coordinate ongoing and future efforts to protect the rights of workers, other... We salute all those whose voices and actions led to this successful outcome and will be pushing for human rights, including of Indigenous peoples, to be respected and protected as the mechanism is developed.”

Lecturer in International Development, UCL UCL Professor of Earth System Science and UNU Lead for Climate, Health and Security, UCL Professor of Infrastructure Engineering and International Development, UCL Mark Maslin is Pro-Vice Provost of the UCL Climate Crisis Grand Challenge and Founding Director of the UCL Institute for Sustainable Aviation and Aeronautics. He was co-director of the London NERC Doctoral Training Partnership and is a member of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group. He is an advisor to Sheep Included Ltd, Lansons, NetZeroNow and has advised the UK Parliament.

He has received grant funding from the NERC, EPSRC, ESRC, DFG, Royal Society, DIFD, BEIS, DECC, FCO, Innovate UK, Carbon Trust, UK Space Agency, European Space Agency, Research England, Wellcome Trust, Leverhulme Trust, CIFF,... He has received funding from the BBC, Lancet, Laithwaites, Seventh Generation, Channel 4, JLT Re, WWF, Hermes, CAFOD, HP, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, John Templeton Foundation, The Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation, Quadrature... Professor Priti Parikh is the Director of UCL's Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction and Vice Dean International for Bartlett Faculty of Built Environment. She is a Fellow and Trustee for Institution of Civil Engineers. Research funding sources include UKRI, Royal Academy of Engineering, Water Aid, British Academy, Bboxx Ltd, UCL, Royal Society and British Council. Her consultancy has received funding from AECOM, Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership, Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor, UNHABITAT, Arup, ITAD and GTZ

COP30 in Belém came to a close amid dramatic last-minute negotiations, deep divisions over fossil fuels, and unresolved disputes on climate finance, pushing talks into overtime and leaving the world without a clear mandate... While the summit achieved progress on adaptation funding, transparency, and more inclusive climate action, its final outcome revealed the widening gap between political ambition and what science—and vulnerable communities—demand. Yet COP30 also witnessed unprecedented civil-society energy, urgent global calls for a just transition, and the resilience of the climate community. Momentum for real-world climate action continues to grow, even as much bolder decisions are needed to meet the 1.5°C goal. ProjectsClaretian Mission DayDonationsProclade International ONLUSProcladesPRISMA COPSDGHLPFJCoRUnited NationsUN Side EventsClaretian Presence

International DaysJPIC Formation ManualSocial Teaching of the ChurchJPIC Grassroots News Home Explore COP30 Offers Too Little as Global Solidarity Fades, Failing Vulnerable Communities COP30 Offers Too Little as Global Solidarity Fades, Failing Vulnerable Communities COP30 has failed to live up to the spirit of mutirão—the global solidarity needed to confront the accelerating climate crisis. The outcome in Belem exposes critical gaps in ambition and political will. Adaptation finance remains insufficient and there is no certainty about the – in principle – agreed scale-up leaving vulnerable countries with little support to bear the brunt of an already changed climate they had...

Despite broad recognition that adaptation to the impacts of climate change is critical, developing countries’ demand to triple adaptation finance to at least $120 billion a year by 2030 remain unmet as developed countries... At the same time, the outcome provides no clear roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels, threatening the fault line of 1.5°C: without stronger action now, the world is heading towards high temperatures where... The absence of a clear signal to phase out fossil fuels undermines any prospect of a fair and effective global and just transition.

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