WITH a plethora of governments, funders, donors, faith-based organisations and civil society movements, it’s not easy to understand COP – the global climate talks which happen once a year.
This year the world has gathered at Belem, Brazil. To help you understand what’s going on this week, here is a synopsis from 350.org which is represented, among others, by Fenton Lutunatabua from Fiji.
The COP30 Presidency’s text lays out a series of options that could shape core outcomes, including a potential roadmap to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.
Options for a Fossil Fuel Transition Roadmap
The text explicitly presents options for countries to “accelerate action to transition away from fossil fuels,” including the possibility of a new roadmap developed by successive COP Presidencies.
A proposed mandate would:
- Task COP Presidencies with developing a Roadmap to boost NDC implementation and cooperation;
- Convene a Coalition of Climate Ministers;
- Release the Roadmap before COP31.
The text also includes a de facto “no-action” option, which would delay decisions until the next global stock take.
Options on Finance
The document fully acknowledges the persistent and growing climate finance gaps and underlines the role of finance as a key enabler of climate action. It paves the way towards increased international cooperation, specifically calling on developed countries to take the lead. A proposed way forward would be to :
- Establish a three-year Belem work programme and Action Plan on the implementation of Article 9.1
- Tripling adaptation finance
- Establish fair burden-sharing arrangements
The document lays out several formal options, from a Mutirão decision to a de facto cover decision and a range of ‘plans’:
- Mutirão decision
- Mission-oriented action
- Global response plan
- Action plan
- Delivery plan
This opens the door for different elements of the package to ultimately land in different outcome vehicles. What is essential is that the formal outcome delivers a strong response to the 1.5°C ambition gap and finance, potentially complemented by additional declarations or parallel outcomes.
On Monday, parties gave feedback on whether the summary accurately reflects their positions, setting the stage for a possible negotiated package later in Week Two.
As COP30 starts its second week, the Presidency has released the highly anticipated presidency consultation text, which harbors the key contentious issues at COP30, namely responding to the ambition gap in NDCs and climate finance. 350.org has analyzed key elements of the text (see below), which tables various options that include the ingredients for a highly ambitious outcome at COP30.
This comes as the support for establishing a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels has grown to 62 countries in just one week, according to 350.org’s latest analysis.
Here are some observations from 350.org representatives at COP:
“The fight is on. The COP30’s Presidency text shows a visible pathway to close the decarbonization gap, anchored in a fossil-fuel phase-out roadmap and a credible climate-finance package. Real textual options now exist, even if still in placeholder form. The challenge ahead is whether Brazil will leverage these twin pillars, finance and ambition, to drive a strong outcome or allow the process to slip to the lowest common denominator. Equally critical is whether Europe and other developed countries will step up on climate finance to make a deal possible.” – Andreas Sieber, Associate Director of Policy and Campaigns, 350.org.
“The Pacific has always fought for a clear pathway to end fossil fuels and begin the just energy transition. Ambition and accessible finance are clearly what is required to move beyond broken promises and ensure that the doors that this Presidency text has opened lead us to a world where 1.5℃ is within our reach.” – Fenton Lutunatabua, Deputy Head of Regions, 350.org
“Finance is the engine of climate action. The Presidency calls on developing countries to lead, prioritize public, grant-based, concessional finance to protect the world’s most vulnerable and break the vicious debt cycle. However, it misses the urgency to simplify direct access to finance for communities, especially Indigenous peoples, who hold solutions on the ground yet face enormous barriers to securing the funds needed to scale them up.” – Fanny Petitbon, France Team Lead, 350.org