COP30: Key Reactions to Climate Deal

AFP/APP

Belém, Brazil: Nearly 200 nations on Saturday approved a modest outcome at the UN’s COP30 climate summit in Brazil’s Amazon region. The deal drew mixed reactions—welcomed as a workable compromise amid tense negotiations and the absence of the United States, yet criticized for failing to go far enough.

Below are the key responses:

Lula

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva—who had invested political capital in what he called “the COP of truth”—hailed the outcome, saying “science prevailed” and “multilateralism won.” He noted that COP30 became the second-largest COP in history due to broad participation from civil society, academia, the private sector, Indigenous peoples, and social movements.

Europe

EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra admitted the bloc “would have preferred to have more, to have more ambition on everything,” but said the deal still pointed “in the right direction.”

France’s ecological transition minister Monique Barbut was more direct: “I couldn’t call this COP a success.” While the deal would not raise global ambition, she said, “it doesn’t disrupt any of the previous momentum.”

British energy secretary Ed Miliband told AFP that frustrations were part of the COP process: “You look over the long sweep of history—it has delivered change. Every COP has frustrations.”

Colombia

Colombian President Gustavo Petro sharply criticized the absence of a fossil fuel phaseout, saying the declaration “doesn’t say with clarity, as science does, that the cause of the climate crisis is fossil fuels.” Colombia “does not accept” this omission, he added.

BASIC: India, South Africa, Brazil, China

India welcomed the outcome as “meaningful,” praising Brazil’s presidency for “sleepless nights” spent ensuring progress. China also expressed satisfaction, with Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment Li Gao saying COP30 would be remembered as “a success in a very difficult situation.”

Less-Developed Countries

Evans Njewa, representing 44 least-developed countries, said the group “didn’t win on all fronts,” but secured a commitment to triple adaptation finance by 2035. He thanked negotiators “for siding with 1.6 billion vulnerable people,” calling it a red line for the bloc.

The Alliance of Small Island States described the deal as “imperfect” but still a step toward “progress.”

Guterres

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres acknowledged the hard work behind the deal but said he understood why Indigenous peoples, youth, and climate-vulnerable communities may be disappointed.

“I cannot pretend that COP30 has delivered everything that is needed,” he said, warning that “the gap between where we are and what science demands remains dangerously wide.” He vowed to continue pushing for greater ambition and solidarity.

NGOs

Climate-focused NGOs offered similarly mixed reactions.

Ani Dasgupta, head of the World Resources Institute, praised “breakthroughs to triple adaptation finance, protect forests, and elevate Indigenous voices,” but said the lack of a fossil fuel phaseout weakened the final agreement.

Ilan Zugman of 350.org said the absence of concrete commitments showed “who is still benefiting from the delay: the fossil fuel industry and the ultrarich, not those living the climate crisis every day.”