COP30 Deadlock in Belém as EU Pushes Fossil-Fuel Phaseout; Finance and Trade Disputes Deepen Rift

COP30 talks run into overtime amid sharp divisions

The UN COP30 climate negotiations in Belém, in Brazil’s Amazon, ran into overtime after two weeks of talks ended without consensus. The European Union clashed with oil-producing and emerging economies over language committing nations to a phaseout of fossil fuels, while developing countries pressed wealthier nations for far greater finance to cope with climate impacts.

A closing plenary scheduled for 13:00 GMT was delayed after Brazil circulated a draft text that omitted any reference to "fossil fuels" or the "roadmap" publicly championed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. EU ministers met through the night but described the talks as deadlocked; French ecological transition minister Monique Barbut said discussions were "going nowhere so far."

Thirty-six countries — spanning wealthy states, emerging economies and small island nations — warned in a joint letter that they would reject any outcome that did not include a clear plan to move away from oil, coal and gas. An EU delegate said the 27-member bloc had been left isolated and cast as the "villains" of the talks, with some member states weighing a symbolic walkout.

"To assume that one side cares about the planet and the other side does not is harmful to negotiations," said Arunabha Ghosh, a special envoy for South Asia. He defended the absence of a formal "roadmap," arguing that developing countries must safeguard energy security and ensure a just transition for workers in fossil-fuel sectors.

Negotiators said oil-rich Saudi Arabia, Russia, coal-producing India and a number of other emerging economies opposed explicit language on a fossil-fuel phaseout. The EU's push reflects frustration at limited follow-through from last year’s COP28 agreement in Dubai, which broadly endorsed a transition away from fossil fuels.

Money and trade disputes complicated the impasse. Developing countries pressed for a "manyfold increase" in climate finance and urged efforts to triple adaptation funding by 2030 compared with 2025 levels. At the same time, China, India and allies sought language opposing trade "barriers," a reference to the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which targets imports of carbon-intensive goods such as steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizers, electricity and hydrogen.

The conference has been turbulent: Indigenous protesters briefly blocked the venue entrance last week, and a fire inside the conference centre disrupted proceedings. Nearly 200 nations must reach consensus to adopt a final text, and the talks are proceeding without the United States after President Donald Trump chose not to attend.

What’s at stake: The outcome will signal how willing major emitters and wealthy nations are to commit to explicit fossil-fuel phaseout language, how much new finance will be pledged for adaptation and just transitions, and whether trade tensions will complicate future climate cooperation.