Over 30 Nations Reject COP30 Draft Over Fossil Fuel Omission

AFP/APP

Belém: More than 30 countries have co-signed a letter opposing Brazil’s draft proposal at the UN climate conference, arguing it fails to include a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels, the Colombian delegation told AFP on Thursday.

COP30, scheduled to conclude on Friday evening, saw its Thursday proceedings cut short after a dramatic fire broke out at the venue in Belém.

Summit leader Andre Correa do Lago, a senior Brazilian diplomat, is under intense pressure from nearly 200 participating nations to deliver a consensus text — a requirement under COP rules.

However, the latest draft, seen by AFP on Thursday, contains no reference to fossil fuels. The omission has raised eyebrows given President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s repeated push for a fossil fuel phase-out as a key initiative of the summit.

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“We cannot support an outcome that does not include a roadmap for implementing a just, orderly and equitable transition away from fossil fuels,” said the letter, shared with AFP and signed by countries from Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the Pacific. France and Belgium confirmed they were among the signatories.

“We must be honest: in its present form, the proposal does not meet the minimum conditions required for a credible COP outcome,” the letter added.

Momentum for phasing out oil, coal, and gas — the main drivers of global warming — had surged in Belém, reviving an issue that had seemed stalled in recent years.

But according to one negotiator, who requested anonymity, several major countries — including China, India, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Russia — rejected the inclusion of any fossil fuel phase-out language.