Experts say COP30 failed to deliver concrete commitments on fossil fuels and deforestation despite high expectations.
The COP30 summit, held in November 2025 in the Amazon city of Belém, failed to deliver a clear, time-bound roadmap to phase out fossil fuels - a key demand from climate scientists and vulnerable countries.
Despite its symbolic location in the heart of the rainforest, the final outcome avoided firm commitments on ending fossil fuel use and produced no concrete plan to halt deforestation.
Ümit Şahin, Coordinator of Climate Change Studies at Sabancı University’s Istanbul Policy Center, said COP30 was significantly weakened by the absence of the United States, following President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and reverse policies supporting renewable energy.
While the summit agreed to establish a just transition mechanism for workers and to increase adaptation finance - aiming for at least $300 billion annually in public funding by 2035 - Şahin said the measures fell short of the scale of action required.
“Deforestation was one of COP30’s clearest failures,” Şahin said, adding that progress on adaptation finance, though welcome, does not match the rapidly growing needs of developing countries.
The 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) will be hosted by Türkiye from 9 to 20 November, 2026, mainly in Antalya, with a leaders’ summit planned in Istanbul. Competition between Türkiye and Australia to host the summit has already raised expectations for a more ambitious agenda.
Şahin said the Mediterranean setting is likely to bring issues such as heatwaves, forest fires and coastal climate risks to the forefront, while electrification, fossil fuel phase-out and stronger emissions reduction commitments are expected to dominate discussions.
As host and president of COP31, Türkiye’s own climate policies will also face close scrutiny. Şahin said credibility will depend on stronger domestic action, including an ambitious updated climate pledge and a clear timeline to phase out coal.
He noted that Türkiye’s national energy plans already point to a decline in coal use and that a complete coal phase-out by 2036 appears technically and economically feasible.
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U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Russia then Ukraine over the weekend, Russian state news agency TASS has reported, citing an unnamed source. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also said American envoys will visit the capitals of both countries.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow for peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, two people familiar with the matter said. They were met by Russian Presidential Envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 4th of September, covering the latest developments.
U.S. efforts to squeeze Iran’s economy through an oil blockade and sanctions are becoming increasingly difficult for Tehran to withstand, according to three senior Iranian sources. Washington is escalating pressure in hopes of securing concessions in future negotiations.
An Iranian tanker was hit by U.S. forces on Saturday near Iran's key oil export hub, Kharg Island, in the Gulf, the semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim reported.
Vast flocks of storks passed through Türkiye and the Bosporus this week as part of their annual autumn migration from European breeding grounds toward Africa and the Middle East.
China's coastal areas and southern regions are preparing for days of intense precipitation, with tens of thousands of people evacuated as Typhoon Narra tracks inland and another storm churns toward the country's eastern seaboard.
A wildfire in Croatia driven by strong winds descended on the tourist town of Omis overnight, engulfing houses, forcing about 1,000 people to evacuate to safety and injuring dozens, fire brigade and health officials said on Friday.
Rhossi, a rare Kemp’s ridley sea turtle that washed up near death on a Welsh beach in 2023, has returned to Texas after more than two years of rehabilitation in the UK.
Glacier coverage in Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul Basin has shrunk by 33.7 per cent over the past 70–90 years, according to an updated glacier inventory by Kyrgyzhydromet. The agency says the pace of glacier retreat has accelerated sharply in recent years.
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