COP30

Fossil fuel phase-out has been a heated issue at the UN talks since a landmark resolution made two years ago in Dubai, and COP30 is no different.

A group of leading philanthropic organisations announced at COP30 that it would commit an initial $300mn to tackling climate and health.

COP30, which began yesterday in the heart of the Amazon, must “hit the accelerator for people, prosperity, and the planet,” stressed the UN’s Simon Stiell at the opening.

Held just before COP30, which kicks off in Brazil today, the Leaders’ Summit pointed to fossil fuels, forests, and financing as priorities for the conference.

The timing of the Amazon licence’s announcement so close to COP30 has been highly criticised.

Brazil’s Federal Prosecution Office has filed a lawsuit to cancel sales of oil blocks in the Amazon Basin, as studies show climate failure is the only scenario where operations could be successful.

International climate talks held in Bonn, Germany, in preparation for COP30, ended last week with no mention of a fossil fuel phase-out, highlighting ongoing divisions among countries over who should pay to meet climate targets.

Brazil’s environment agency is getting closer to licensing oil and gas exploration in the Amazon Basin, raising questions over the country’s climate commitments just six months before COP30.

A summit in Brasilia this week addressed climate disinformation and reiterated Brazil’s commitment to information integrity ahead of COP30.

Announced last month, the president of COP30 was well-received both nationally and internationally. The internal and external challenges ahead, however, appear to be no greater than the high expectations placed upon him.

With less than a year to go until COP30, whether Belem’s city improvement work will finish in time remains in question, as well as Brazil’s capacity to lead negotiations.