COP30: Countries reach draft deal to help speed up climate action | Sc

Countries attending COP30, the biggest climate meeting of the year, have agreed steps to help speed up climate action, according to a draft deal.

The meeting of leaders in the Brazilian city of Belem also saw them agree to reviewing related trade barriers and triple the money given to developing countries to help them withstand extreme weather events, according to the draft.

The deal doesn’t appear to include any mention of how the world might wean off fossil fuels – the main cause of the climate crisis.

“It’s a weak outcome,” said former Philippine negotiator Jasper Inventor, now at Greenpeace International.

In the text, instead of a transition plan away from fossil fuels, the agreement “acknowledges that the global transition toward low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development is irreversible and the trend of the future,” and says “the (2015) Paris Agreement is working and resolves to go further and faster.”

Despite no transition plan being included in the deal, the summit’s president Andre Correa do Lago said “roadmaps” on fossil fuels and forests would be published as there was no consensus on these issues.

The annual United Nations conference brings together world leaders, scientists, campaigners, and negotiators from across the globe, who agree on collective next steps for tackling climate change.

The two-week conference in the Amazon city was due to end at 6pm local time (9pm UK time) on Friday, but it dragged into overtime.

The standoff was between the EU, which pressed for language on transitioning away from fossil fuels, and the Arab Group of nations, including major oil…