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COP30 in Belém Runs Overtime as Fossil-Fuel Phase-Out Sparks Deep Divide

09:59 AM, 11/22/2025
COP30 in Belém Runs Overtime as Fossil-Fuel Phase-Out Sparks Deep Divide

Negotiators at COP30 in Belém have extended talks past the deadline amid a deadlock over a draft agreement that omits an explicit plan to phase out fossil fuels. Closed-door consultations continued as oil-producing nations resisted language naming coal, oil and gas while many other countries insisted a phase-out roadmap is essential. Financing the transition and wealthy nations' responsibility to support the Global South remain core disputes. UN agencies and rights groups warn current trends make exceeding 1.5°C within a decade very likely.

United Nations climate negotiations at COP30 in Belém have extended past their scheduled deadline as delegates remain sharply divided over a draft agreement that makes no explicit reference to phasing out fossil fuels.

Delegates stayed in closed-door talks into the evening, attempting to reconcile differences and produce a text with concrete measures to confront the accelerating climate emergency.

A draft proposal published earlier in the day alarmed campaigners and policy experts because it omitted any mention of oil, gas and coal — the primary drivers of global warming — prompting fierce debate among delegations.

“This cannot be an agenda that divides us,”

said COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago in a public plenary before delegates returned to negotiation rooms to seek common ground.

Some oil-producing countries and nations dependent on fossil-fuel revenues have resisted explicit language on a phase-out, while dozens of other governments insist they will not accept a final outcome that fails to set out a clear roadmap for ending reliance on coal, oil and gas. Reporter Monica Yanakiew described the omission as a deeply divisive point in the talks.

Another major sticking point is how to finance the transition away from fossil fuels. Developing countries — often most vulnerable to extreme weather and other climate impacts — are demanding greater financial responsibility from richer nations to support low-carbon development and adaptation.

The impasse comes as the UN Environment Programme warned that the world is "very likely" to exceed the 1.5°C limit agreed under the Paris Agreement within the next decade. Rights groups have also warned that continued expansion of fossil fuel projects threatens billions of people globally.

“A roadmap is essential, and it must be just, equitable, and backed by real support for the Global South,”

said Nafkote Dabi, climate policy lead at Oxfam International, adding that developed countries that grew wealthy on fossil fuels should phase out first and provide finance for low‑carbon pathways in the Global South.

Negotiators cautioned that discussions could continue through the weekend as they attempt to bridge deep political and financial gaps. The outcome at COP30 will be watched as a measure of global resolve to avert the worst impacts of rising temperatures.

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