The UN climate summit failed to produce a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels, leaving the EU increasingly isolated. COP30 in Belém ended with a final text that avoided any concrete plan, which critics called an empty deal and a moral failure. The United States stepped away from international climate talks, creating a political and financial void, with President Donald Trump dismissing climate change as a con job. Countries dependent on fossil-fuel income, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, rejected any target or timeline to exit fossil fuels.
One day before the summit concluded, the EU threatened to withhold support for the text, which required consensus from nearly 200 nations. Ultimately, EU leaders endorsed it, recognizing its lack of ambition but seeing no other option. Despite the weak outcome, the 27-member bloc reaffirmed its commitment to the 1.5°C limit, pollution reduction, and the transition away from fossil fuels. They also pledged to continue funding clean-energy projects abroad. European Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra emphasized that the EU stood united and fought for stronger climate ambition.
Divisions and Geopolitics Stall Progress
Dutch MEP Mohammed Chahim said President Lula set high expectations, and the EU aimed to lead a coalition of ambitious countries. He noted that fragmentation in the international system hampered success and slowed coordinated climate action. Resistance from oil-producing states proved overwhelming, while shifting geopolitical balances reduced momentum.
Chahim explained that the EU and the UK had to fight against the tide while BRICS nations resisted decisive fossil-fuel action. BRICS, a coalition of ten emerging economies led by Moscow, positioned itself as a counterweight to Western influence. Irish Minister Darragh O’Brien said he reluctantly supported the final text and regretted the absence of a credible fossil-fuel phase-out roadmap. More than 80 countries, including Ireland, had demanded such a plan during COP30, but negotiators refused. Former US Vice President Al Gore criticized the petrostates blocking progress and said Brazil would still lead a global effort, backed by nations supporting stronger climate action.
Science and Accountability Demand Action
Climate scientists and environmental advocates criticized the summit outcome. Nikki Reisch, director of the climate and energy program at the Centre for International Environmental Law, called the deal “empty” for ignoring repeated legal and scientific calls to phase out fossil fuels and hold polluters accountable. She warned that while major emitters delayed action, the planet continued to face worsening crises.
Doug Weir, director of the Conflict and Environment Observatory, described the final text as a moral failure, leaving communities already suffering the worst climate impacts behind. He stressed that negotiators had made no progress since Dubai and now faced an even steeper challenge.
A report from Climate Analytics found that full implementation of COP28 pledges could reduce global warming by one-third in ten years and by half by 2040 if governments tripled renewable energy, doubled efficiency, and acted on methane. CEO Bill Hare said these measures could keep warming below 2°C this century, rather than the projected 2.6°C.
World leaders met in Belém to review progress toward the 1.5°C goal, ten years after the Paris Agreement. The summit concluded after two weeks of talks in the Amazon, and Australia and Turkey will host the next COP meetings to rebuild international climate momentum.
