Dozens of countries are pushing for the COP30 summit to deliver a road map away from fossil fuel use as its key outcome, setting the stage for a frantic few last days of talks.
In a packed conference room at the United Nations meeting, representatives from the Marshall Islands, Colombia, the U.K., Germany, Kenya and Sierra Leone led a group of about 20 countries in calling for a path to shift away from oil, gas and coal. Organizers of the push claimed to have more than 80 nations supporting the effort.
It marked the most concerted attempt so far to fulfill a landmark pledge that countries made two years ago, at COP28 in Dubai, to transition away from fossil fuels. Supporters said that none of the options to accelerate the shift included in a draft agreement Tuesday were sufficient, and they called on Brazil, the host of COP30, to do more.
“Let’s get behind the idea of a fossil fuels road map,” said Tina Stege, climate envoy for the Marshall Islands. “The current reference is weak, and it’s an option. It must be strengthened and adopted.”
“We’ve had many COPs and many attempts to silence this issue. The time is now. History demands that we act,” said Colombian Environment Minister Irene Vélez Torres.
The clamor comes one day before Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was slated to return to Belém and try to boost ambition in the negotiating rooms. Lula led calls at the start of the conference for road maps to address deforestation and the fossil fuel transition, though the draft text fell short of that approach.
The conference draft text as of mid-week so leaves unresolved several contentious topics, reflecting deep divisions over the energy transition, climate finance and trade.
U.K. climate envoy Rachel Kyte described building momentum for the fossil fuel road map, since Lula’s opening address.
“It’s clear that there are different pathways for different countries” Kyte said. “This will be a place to bring it all together. This is one of those things that gathers energy.”
Ainger writes for Bloomberg. Fabiano Maisonnave and Jennifer A. Dlouhy of Bloomberg contributed to this report.
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