Six Big Takeaways From COP30 Climate Talks
From the grand compromise on fossil fuels to the new items on the COP agenda, this is what you need to know about this year’s negotiations — and what comes next.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks during a press conference at COP30 on Nov. 19.
Photographer: Pablo Porciuncula/AFP/Getty Images
Global climate negotiations eked out an agreement that manages to nudge forward efforts to curb planet-warming emissions. But the final result — in avoiding explicit reference to fossil fuels — will leave big questions hanging over the efficacy of international climate politics.
Two weeks of talks in the rainforest city of Belém, Brazil, served as a rebuttal of sorts to the idea that climate multilateralism is no longer viable. In the end, nearly 200 countries agreed to an eight-page document that calls for stronger efforts on national goals on emissions and boosting financial support to poor countries that need help defending against intensifying heat, storms and droughts.