The Mutirão decision calls for the tripling of finance to help developing countries adapt to climate impacts by 2035, however, this has been weakened from an originally proposed 2030 target and does not mention a specific baseline.
There is also no mention of the fossil fuels driving globl warming, with intense opposition from petrostates including Saudi Arabia and Russia preventing consensus on a roadmap to transitioning away from oil and gas.
The annual summit failed to finish on time once again after an impasse between the EU and Arab Group of nations over fossil fuels pushed the talks past a Friday deadline, while delegates had to be evacuated when a fire broke out just one day before the conference was due to end.
Just a week earlier, analysis revealed that there has been little change to the global warming outlook over the last four years, with temperatures set to rise 2.6°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century.
“COPs are consensus-based – and in a period of geopolitical divides, consensus is ever harder to reach,” UN secretary-general António Guterres said. “I cannot pretend that COP30 has delivered everything that is needed. Overshoot of 1.5°C is a stark warning: deep, rapid emission cuts and massive climate finance are essential.”
Despite its shortcomings, the conference did secure an agreement to develop a just transition mechanism to enhance international cooperation, technical assistance, capacity-building, and knowledge-sharing, which had been a key ask from civil society groups.
The talks also successfully concluded negotiations on a Gender Action Plan (GAP), which includes the use of disaggregated data and gender analysis for decision making to advance gender-responsive climate action.
A Tropical Forests Forever Fund raised $5.5bn and now includes 53 participating countries, with at least 20% of resources going directly to Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
The first global initiative targeting climate-related health threats – the Belém Health Action Plan – launched with $300m from 35 philanthropic organisations, while public utility companies pledged $66bn annually for renewable energy and $82bn for transmission and storage.
Along with a target to triple adaptation finance, 60 indicators were adopted to measure progress, such as tracking finance, technology transfer, and capacity building.
Furthermore, leaders from government, business, civil society and philanthropy launched a new Global Initiative on Jobs and Skills for the New Economy to put jobs and skills at the heart of the low-carbon transition and accelerate investment in human capital, foster social inclusion, and align workforce development with national climate and economic strategies.
It launched shortly after the World Resources Institute (WRI) published research revealing that the green transition could create an estimated 375 million new jobs over the next decade, particularly in renewable energy, construction and nature-based solutions.
UNFCCC executive secretary Simon Stiell said that COP30 showed that "climate cooperation is alive and kicking, keeping humanity in the fight for a liveable planet, with a firm resolve to keep 1.5C within reach”.
"We knew this COP would take place in stormy political waters," he continued. "Denial, division and geopolitics has dealt international cooperation some heavy blows this year. "I’m not saying we’re winning the climate fight. But we are undeniably still in it, and we are fighting back."
COP31 will convene in Turkey next year with Australia playing a role as “President of Negotiations.”
Chris Seekings is the Deputy Editor of ISEP’s Transform magazine, which is published biomonthly for ISEP members. Chris’s role involves writing sustainability-related news, features and interviews, as well as helping to plan and manage the magazine’s other day-to-day activities.
