COP30 – the 2025 global climate summit – is into its second week as delegates strive to deliver a global Mutirão, the proposal by the Brazilian presidency to unite humanity in a global mobilisation against climate change.
Running until 21 November in Belém, Brazil, the summit discusses the action the global community is taking on tackling climate change.
A world on fire
On Thursday 20 November UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged negotiators to reach an "ambitious compromise", but negotiations were later interrupted as a fire broke out in a pavilion where talks were being held, forcing evacuation.
EU Climate commissioner Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra in a press conference this week called for “ambitious” plans as the world comes “dangerously close to truly destructive tipping points”, although reportedly ruled out revisiting financial pledges or being "lured into a phony conversation about trade”.
Although Brazil’s environment minister Marina Silva reportedly suggested this year’s COP30 climate summit could result in a roadmap to end the use of fossil fuels through a “planned and just transition”, the COP30 draft text as of 21 November reportedly omits any mention of a fossil fuel phase-out roadmap. Talks will resume later than anticipated on Friday, which is likely to delay the official closing of the summit and the finalisation of the negotiating text.
The lifeblood of climate action
Last week, Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, made clear the connection between finance and climate action in his opening speech at the third High-Level Ministerial Dialogue on climate finance.
Describing climate finance as the lifeblood of climate action and “what turns plans into progress, and ambition into implementation”, Steill pointed to progress made since the Paris Agreement. Climate cooperation has seen public and private flows of climate finance growing, new partnerships forged, and billions of dollars flowing into clean energy, resilience, and just transitions across the world.
However, Stiell also addressed the shortfall in climate finance, which is still not sufficient or reliable enough, or shared widely and fairly enough. He also drew attention to the gap in adaptation finance required by countries to adapt to the effects of climate chaos, although in a later speech remained confident that COP30 would deliver results:
“COP30 has racked up an impressive scorecard of real-world climate actions that will also mean stronger economies, more jobs and better lives for many millions”.
Chartered Accountants Ireland will bring you more from the final days of COP30 as negotiations conclude next week.
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