UN climate talks fail to secure new fossil fuel promises

Following bitter rows, the UN climate summit COP30 in Belém, Brazil has ended with a deal that contains no direct reference to the fossil fuels that are heating up the planet.

It is a frustrating end for more than 80 countries including the UK and EU that wanted the meeting to commit the world to stop using using oil, coal and gas at a faster pace.

But oil-producing nations held the line that they should be allowed to use their fossil fuel resources to grow their economies.

The meeting takes place as the UN says it fears global efforts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels have failed.

A representative for Colombia furiously criticised the COP presidency for not allowing countries to object to the deal in the final meeting on Saturday, known as a plenary.

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro said he “does not accept” the agreement.

The final deal, called the Mutirão, calls on countries to “voluntarily” accelerate their climate action.

But for many countries, the fact that the talks did not collapse or roll back on past climate agreements is a relief.

For the first time, the US did not send a delegation after President Donald Trump said the country will leave the landmark Paris treaty that committed countries to act on climate change in 2015. He has branded climate change “a con”.

“This is a disappointment,” said Antigua and Barbuda Climate Ambassador Ruleta Thomas, referring to the amount of money promised to poorer countries to adapt to climate change.

But she added: “We are happy that there is a process that continues to function […] where every country can be heard.”

The two weeks of talks were at times chaotic. Toilets ran out of water, torrential thunderstorms flooded the venue, and delegates struggled to cope in hot, humid rooms.

The COP’s nearly 50,000 registered delegates were evacuated twice. A group of about 150 protestors broke into the venue, breaching security lines, and carrying placards reading “our forests are not for sale”.

On Thursday a large fire broke out, rapidly burning a hole into the roof and forcing participants to evacuate for at least six hours.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva chose the city of Belém to put the world’s attention on the Amazon rainforest and to bring a rush of finance to the city.

Despite its desire for a more ambitious fossil fuel agreement, Brazil was criticised for its own plans to drill for oil at the mouth of the Amazon.

Its offshore oil and gas production is on course to increase until the early 2030s, according to analysis shared with the BBC by campaign group Global Witness.

Some countries, however, said they were happy about the outcome.

India praised the deal, calling it “meaningful”. A group representing the interests of 39 small island and low-lying coastal states on Saturday called it “imperfect” but still a step towards “progress”.

Some poorer nations have come away with a promise for more climate finance to help them adapt to the impacts of climate change.

But it’s a sour end for more than 80 countries, who negotiated through the night to keep stronger fossil fuel language in the deal.

UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband insisted the meeting is a “step forward”.

“I would have preferred a more ambitious agreement,” he said.

“We’re not going to hide the fact that we would have preferred to have more, to have more ambition on everything,” EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told journalists.