Brazil pushes through COP30 climate deal boosting finance for poor nations

Brazil pushed through a compromise climate deal at COP30 in Belém, boosting funding for developing nations but sidestepping any mention of fossil fuels — the very drivers of global warming.

After two tense weeks of negotiations and an overnight standoff, Brazil’s COP30 presidency managed to steer a global climate agreement through the finish line on Saturday, aiming to showcase unity despite widening rifts between nations over how to tackle the climate crisis.

The accord, adopted in overtime in the Amazonian city of Belém, calls on wealthy nations to at least triple financial support for developing countries by 2035 to help them adapt to rising temperatures, floods, and other climate impacts. However, the deal makes no reference to fossil fuels — a key source of the emissions heating the planet.

Brazil’s COP30 President, Andre Corrêa do Lago, acknowledged the strain of the talks. “We know some of you had greater ambitions for some of the issues at hand,” he told delegates, after suspending and then resuming the final plenary session to push the deal through.

Despite the absence of the United States’ official delegation, Brazil’s presidency sought to project a sense of unity. UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell praised the outcome as a modest but essential step forward:

“I’m not saying we’re winning the climate fight. But we are undeniably still in it — and we are fighting back.”

Fossil fuel divide

The most contentious issue remained the lack of language on phasing out fossil fuels. The European Union and several Latin American countries — including Colombia, Panama, and Uruguay — pushed for stronger commitments, arguing that the agreement failed to align with climate science.

“A consensus imposed under climate denialism is a failed agreement,” Colombia’s negotiator said, criticising the omission.

The debate escalated when Russia’s delegate accused dissenting countries of “behaving like children who want to get their hands on all the sweets” — a remark that drew sharp backlash from Latin American delegates.

In the end, Brazil’s presidency issued a separate “side text” on fossil fuels and forest protection, keeping both topics out of the main accord due to the lack of consensus.

Focus on finance

While political divisions ran deep, the deal placed renewed emphasis on climate finance. The agreement urges rich nations to triple climate adaptation funds and launches a voluntary initiative to accelerate emissions reduction efforts.

Developing nations, however, warned that the measures fell short of what’s needed. Avinash Persaud, special advisor to the President of the Inter-American Development Bank, said:

“The accord’s focus on finance is important as climate impacts mount. But I fear the world still fell short on rapid-release grants for developing countries responding to loss and damage.”

Sierra Leone’s climate minister Jiwoh Emmanuel Abdulai also voiced concern, arguing that the agreed indicators for climate resilience — including food security metrics — were “unclear, unmeasurable, and in many cases, unusable.”

A fragile victory

The deal’s approval came only after the European Union agreed not to block the final text despite its reservations. “We should support the deal because at least it is going in the right direction,” said EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra.

The outcome underscores the persistent divide between nations calling for a phase-out of fossil fuels and those resisting any mention of them — including top oil exporters.

For Brazil, which will host the next round of climate follow-ups before handing over the COP presidency, the compromise is both a diplomatic achievement and a reminder of the uphill battle ahead.

As Corrêa do Lago concluded, the world may not yet agree on how to end the fossil fuel era — but it remains, however tenuously, still in the fight.

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