Cop30 Conclusions Insufficient To Tackle Climate Change Say

Leo Migdal

-Dec 3, 2025, 12:45 PM

cop30 conclusions insufficient to tackle climate change say

The UN climate summit COP30 fell short of expectations and scientific requirements to keep global warming in check, according to German researchers, climate NGOs, and government officials. They said it was particularly disappointing that negotiations ended without a roadmap for phasing out coal, oil and gas. Agreements reached at the COP30 climate conference on the phaseout of fossil fuels and rainforest protection fall short of what is required to keep climate change in check and avoid tipping points, German scientists... “COP30 has not been marked by groundbreaking agreements,” said Ottmar Edenhofer, head of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). “Countries are making insufficient pledges, and even these commitments are not being honoured.” The UN climate change conference took place over the past two weeks.

Delegates discussed key global issues including protection of rainforests, combating deforestation, cooperation on adaptation, climate finance, and the fossil fuel phaseout. “From a European perspective, COP30 in Belém is disappointing,” said Claudia Kemfert from the economic institute DIW. She added that the conference ended without a roadmap for phasing out coal, oil and gas, despite support from a coalition of over 80 countries. The 2025 UN climate talks wrapped on Saturday, Nov. 22 after negotiations pushed into overtime. The resulting decision secured some important wins, both inside and outside the negotiations.

But it omitted some of the big-ticket items many hoped to see. With efforts to halt temperature rise severely off track and climate disasters becoming ever-more destructive, the summit (COP30) aimed to establish clear pathways to deliver past pledges and put the world on a safer... A key question was how countries would address lagging ambition in their new climate commitments (NDCs). Hopes that countries would commit to roadmaps to end fossil fuel use and halt deforestation were ultimately dashed after opposition from petrostates. The final decision only included new voluntary initiatives to accelerate national climate action, though the Brazilian Presidency intends to move forward with fossil fuel and deforestation roadmaps outside of the formal COP talks. Building resilience to climate impacts took center stage, with COP30 securing a new target to triple finance for climate adaptation.

The COP also laid out practical solutions to increase finance for the low-carbon transition. In an era of trade wars and tariffs, negotiators also agreed for the first time to hold discussions on how trade policies can help — or hinder — climate action. Against the backdrop of the Amazon, nature also saw advances, including a new fund for tropical forest conservation. Indigenous Peoples and other local communities were recognized like never before. And outside the formal negotiations, the summit saw a raft of new pledges and action plans from cities, states, countries and the private sector. It is clear that we are moving from negotiations to implementation, and from wrangling over what to do to how to do it.

These victories matter. It shows that international cooperation can still deliver, despite deepening divides on climate action and a difficult geopolitical context. Following the end of the 2025 climate negotiations, the MEPs leading Parliament’s delegation reacted to the outcome of the COP30. “At COP30, despite our persistent efforts and the European Parliament’s clear mandate on mitigation and the phase-out of fossil fuels, we faced a unified BRICS–Arab front and a Presidency unwilling to match our level... Still, we secured acknowledgment of the response to the emissions gap, a high-level event on implementation, and progress through the Belém 1.5°C Mission, the Global Implementation Accelerator, and a plurilateral initiative on transitioning away... On adaptation, finance was protected within the new collective quantified goal on climate finance (NCQG) framework, and we achieved a recommendation to at least triple support by 2035, reinforcing solidarity with the most vulnerable.

Trade elements of negotiations remained intact with an added report. And while momentum for global climate action is slower than it should be, multilateralism held, and we remain determined to push for the ambition the science demands.”, said Lídia Pereira (EPP, PT), delegation chair. “The outcome of COP30 secures a very minimal basis for global climate action, but the pace remains far too insufficient to meet the urgency of the climate crisis. This result confirms that the gap between climate ambition and concrete emission reductions remains consistently large. This is not the major step the world needs now. President Lula set the bar high, and the EU came with the intention of taking the lead in a coalition of ambitious countries.

However, the resistance from, among others, the oil states was too great, and the geopolitical balances have clearly shifted. Together with the United Kingdom, the EU had to row against the tide to salvage any ambition. This increasingly isolates Europe from the rest of the world. The EU must now urgently forge coalitions to prevent us from becoming isolated again in future negotiations.”, said Mohammed Chahim (S&D, NL), vice-chair of the delegation. The 30th United Nations climate conference (COP30) was scheduled to take place from 10 to 21 November 2025 in Belém, Brazil (a final agreement was reached on 22 November). An official Parliament delegation attended the conference from 17 to 21 November.

A joint press conference with delegation chair Lídia Pereira and Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, took place on Wednesday 19 November (watch the recording). • COP30 ended without a roadmap to phase out coal, oil and gas, despite support from more than 80 countries.• Governments backed climate finance ambitions of $1.3 trillion annually for developing countries by 2035,... COP30 closed with a sense of unfinished work and deep frustration from scientists, European officials, and climate NGOs, after negotiators failed for a second consecutive year to include any reference to phasing out fossil... What emerged instead was a patchwork of voluntary initiatives that many experts say does not match the accelerating pace of climate impacts or geopolitical fragmentation. “COP30 has not been marked by groundbreaking agreements,” said Ottmar Edenhofer, head of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). “Countries are making insufficient pledges, and even these commitments are not being honoured.”

Delegates spent two weeks debating adaptation, rainforest protection, climate finance and cooperation frameworks. Yet the most politically charged topic — fossil fuels — stalled again. Claudia Kemfert of the German economic institute DIW called the outcome “disappointing,” adding that the talks ended “without a roadmap for phasing out coal, oil and gas,” despite broad support from a coalition of... German ministers were blunt in their assessments. Environment minister Carsten Schneider said the conference “was good in terms of implementation, but not good enough in terms of the outcome of the negotiations,” adding that resistance from the “old, fossil fuel-based world”... Climate Summit Ends with Weak Outcomes on Fossil Fuels and Forests

Share this via Facebook Share this via Bluesky Share this via X Share this via WhatsApp Share this via Email More sharing options Share this via LinkedIn Share this via Reddit Share this via... In Belem, Brazil, as the United Nations climate summit (COP30) convened, I marched alongside thousands of activists and Indigenous peoples calling on governments to urgently address climate change and protect human rights. As previous host countries restricted such demonstrations, the November 15 march was exhilarating. However, despite clear—and powerful—calls from civil society for the summit to take bolder steps on climate change and to uphold human rights, COP30 failed to make progress on two key issues: fossil fuels and... Human Rights Watch has researched how communities near coal, oil, and gas sites face severe harms, and how Indigenous peoples and other forest-dependent communities continue to face violence and land grabs. Ahead of the summit, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva urged countries to agree on “roadmaps” to transition away from fossil fuels and to end the deforestation that has been disastrous for the...

During negotiations, more than 80 countries—led by Colombia and supported by climate-vulnerable states—pushed for a roadmap on fossil fuels to be reflected in the final negotiated text. The Warrick Power Plant, a coal-powered generating station, operates April 8, 2025, in Newburgh, Ind. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel, File) Activists participate in a demonstration outside where negotiations are taking place at the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit, Friday, Nov.

21, 2025, in Belem, Brazil. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Simon Stiell, United Nations climate chief, speaks during a news conference at the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in Belem, Brazil.

(AP Photo/Andre Penner) Trees surround the area of a quilombola, an Afro-descendant community called Menino Jesus in Acara, Brazil, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) André Corrêa do Lago, COP30 president, center, and Simon Stiell, United Nations climate chief, front left, speak with staff during a plenary session at the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit, Saturday, Nov.

22, 2025, in Belem, Brazil. (AP Photo/Andre Penner) The results of COP30 are disappointing and reflect the complex geopolitical situation that prevented substantial progress. The proposed roadmap for a global phase-out of coal, oil and gas failed due to a strong opposition. Despite immense differences, many smaller decisions and successes were achieved. On Saturday evening, 22 November 2025, the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Belém, Brazil, ended almost 27 hours late.

Despite intense negotiations, the final text adopted by all states fell short of the goals set by the Brazilian COP presidency. At the start of COP30, Brazilian president Lula da Silva had set the ambitious goal of jointly agreeing on a path to phase out fossil fuels. Pressure for a successful COP also came from Brazilian civil society, especially the indigenous community, which organised numerous protests on the streets of Belém and even broke into the entrance to the conference halls... In the second week of negotiations, an alliance of more than 80 countries was formed to map out a concrete plan for the joint decision made at COP28 in Dubai in 2023 to transition... However, in the end, no consensus could be reached among all countries on a roadmap for the global phase-out of fossil fuels. This was primarily due to strong resistance from oil- and gas-rich nations, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia.

The US government did not even participate in the conference. Though COP30 did not achieve a breakthrough, in the closing plenary session, COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago announced the creation of a roadmap for the phase-out of fossil fuels and a roadmap to... The momentum at COP30 clearly showed that a strong alliance of progressive states must take the lead in ⁠climate action⁠ in order to achieve joint progress in the future. Germany should join this alliance and, together with the EU, strengthen its own climate action ambition. ⁠"The outcome achieved in Brazil is far from ideal, mainly because it does not contain a clear statement and timeline for phasing out fossil fuels, thus falling short of the expectations expressed by Brazilian... Oil and gas export interests of countries such as Saudi Arabia, Russia and the US have blocked joint climate progress," says UBA President Dirk Messner.

"China also prevented clear statements on phasing out fossil fuels. But against the backdrop of a fragmented geopolitical international arena, a voluntary agreement was at least reached to discuss a roadmap for such a phase-out. That is the silver lining and should not be underestimated. And it is better than no result at all." In three decades of these meetings aimed at forging global consensus on how to prevent and deal with global warming, this will go down as among the most divisive. Many countries were livid when COP30 in Belém, Brazil ended on Saturday with no mention of the fossil fuels that have heated up the atmosphere.

Cop30 Conclusions Insufficient To Tackle Climate Change Say

People Also Search

The UN Climate Summit COP30 Fell Short Of Expectations And

Delegates Discussed Key Global Issues Including Protection Of Rainforests, Combating

But It Omitted Some Of The Big-ticket Items Many Hoped

The COP Also Laid Out Practical Solutions To Increase Finance

These Victories Matter. It Shows That International Cooperation Can Still