THE world, including the Philippines, is closely watching how COP30, or the Conference of Parties, in the Amazonic city of Belem in Brazil, will end this weekend, Manila time.
Climate conferences, going by the record, have frequently extended beyond their official end dates to reach a consensus among the nearly 200 participating countries.
Originally scheduled to run for 12 days until Nov. 21 (Nov 22, Manila time) reports have indicated negotiators have missed prior deadlines to secure an agreement on key issues like energy transition roadmaps, climate finance, and the future of fossil fuels.
Previous UN climate conferences have a history of running into “overtime” as delegates work through the final obstacles to produce a consensus decision. Given the ongoing disagreements and the complexity of the issues being discussed, it is highly probable the conference will be extended by a day or more to allow negotiations to conclude.
Derailed by a fire that broke out at the venue, the summit discussions were disrupted which immediately touched off an evacuation just as negotiators were huddling to try to forge an agreement to strengthen international climate efforts.
The COP30 situation has become dynamic, especially after the fire which caused a temporary closure for safety assessments and potential disruptions to the final day’s proceedings.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres earlier appealed for a deal from the summit, while welcoming calls from some for clarity on the hotly disputed subject of weaning the world off fossil fuels.
The fossil fuels issue is crucial because it is the central driver of the climate crisis, and the summit aims to develop a roadmap to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels based on the COP28 agreement.
Discussions gave focus on moving from a pledge to action by creating a concrete plan to phase out coal, oil, and gas, a goal supported by many nations and activists.
Reports said countries would call to triple the financing available to help nations adapt to climate change by 2030, from 2025 levels, but did not specify whether this money would be provided directly by wealthy governments, or other sources including development banks or the private sector.
This is critical, given Brazil’s role as host and the scientific consensus that ending fossil fuel use is necessary to avert catastrophic climate change.
The COP30 Presidency and the UNFCCC secretariat – the principal global treaty for coordinating international responses to climate change — are working together to resume activities focusing on negotiations.
Dozens of countries including both developed and developing nations have pushed for a roadmap setting out how countries should transition away from fossil fuels.
Others, including some fossil fuel-producing nations, are resisting.
The COP28 climate summit in 2023 agreed, after protracted discussion, to a transition, but nations have not mapped out how — or when — it will happen.
We take comfort in the statement of UN chief Guterres: “I am perfectly convinced that a compromise is possible.”
