COP30 Final Declaration Drops All Fossil-Fuel Language

Despite broad support from most countries in attendance, the final declaration adopted at COP30 in Belem, Brazil omitted any reference to fossil fuels. The omission followed strong objections from oil-producing nations, underscoring the limits of multilateralism in a year marked by deepening geopolitical divides and rising trade barriers. Instead, the text referenced the “UAE consensus” agreed at COP28, which called for a transition away from fossil fuels but introduced no new commitments or stronger language.

Dozens of nations, including hosts Brazil, the UK and Colombia, backed a formal roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels. However, a coalition of oil-exporting countries led by Saudi Arabia opposed any text that could limit national control over hydrocarbon production. Because the COP30 declaration required consensus, the proposal was ultimately dropped.

During the summit’s closing session, COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago acknowledged the limitations of the final text. “We know some of you had greater ambitions for some of the issues at hand,” he said. “As President Lula (da Silva) said at the opening of this COP, we need roadmaps so that humanity – in a just and planned manner – can overcome its dependence on fossil fuels, halt and reverse deforestation and mobilize resources for these purposes.” He announced that the presidency would release two voluntary roadmaps outside the formal declaration: one on deforestation and one on transitioning away from fossil fuels.

The dispute over fossil-fuel language pushed negotiations past the Friday deadline, prompting overnight talks. In a note leaked to Politico, delegates described tense exchanges during a closed ministerial meeting between the European Union and Arab oil-producing states, where a Saudi representative rejected any language restricting national resource use. Referring to the COP28 deal, EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra rhetorically asked, “What on Earth did we then do two years ago?”

Colombia, which has  championed fossil-fuel phaseout efforts, sharply criticized the outcome. President Gustavo Petro wrote on X that “Colombia opposes a COP30 declaration that does not tell the world the scientific truth,” adding that “life on the planet… is only possible if we separate ourselves from oil, coal and natural gas.”

COP experts noted that referencing the UAE consensus without reaffirming its specific fossil fuel language diluted the 2023 pledge. According to Dr. Joanna Depledge of the University of Cambridge, the fossil fuel transition text from Dubai was being “deliberately diluted and obscured” by Arab states. She notes that the UAE package contained eight disparate decisions, many of which fell outside the scope of fossil fuels, allowing negotiators to downplay consensus’ key commitments regarding the energy transition.

The absence of the United States — which declined to send a delegation for the first time in COP history — amplified the influence of other major economies whose domestic priorities constrain collective progress on fossil-fuel phaseout. Analysts highlighted the growing weight of the BRICS bloc — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — which together are projected to account for 46% of global greenhouse-gas emissions in 2025. Li Shuo, director, China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute, said the talks reflected a “rebalancing” of global power and the domestic pressures facing major emitters. “Countries need to deliver domestically, and there’s a big gap between those rhetorical aspirations and what they’re doing at home,” he said.

Even with the stalemate on fossil fuels, Brazil advanced other elements of the deal. In what observers described as the summit’s sole transformational achievement, wealthier nations committed to providing at least US$300 billion in annual climate finance to developing countries by 2035, with an ambition to scale this up to US$1.3 trillion through public and private funding. Still, it was one of the few new multilateral commitments in the final decision.

UN climate chief Simon Steill described the agreement as imperfect but significant in maintaining global cooperation. “I am not saying we’re winning the climate fight. But we are undeniably still in it, and we are fighting back,” he said.