The UN climate negotiations burned and then fizzled out

“It’s a cover… Don’t forget to buy a t-shirt that says ‘I Survived Belem,’” said the opening line of an email I received on Saturday, the final day of the highly anticipated event. United Nations climate negotiations In Belém, Brazil. The email was sent by Honorable Jane Contee, U.S. climate diplomacy leader at the Global Strategic Communications Council (GSCC), who has been tracking these events for years. Although she occasionally offers tips on where to grab a cup of coffee as well as email updates to reporters, the T-shirt tip was the first of its kind that I’ve seen.

I have been thinking about these negotiations since last year, and have mapped out potential funding opportunities for a trip to Belem to report on the ground. I resigned myself to covering the news remotely from the US rather than take a trip to the Amazon while pregnant during the federal government shutdown. My fear of missing out was dashed last week when the UN venue caught fire, before a lackluster end to what some hoped would be the most important round of international climate change talks since 2018. Paris Agreement 2015.

The two-week talks concluded over the weekend with much debate and talk about transitioning away from fossil fuels responsible for climate change. The organizers of the event, called COP30 (“the 30th Conference of the Parties” which includes delegates from more than 190 countries that have ratified the UNFCCC) Describe this as “Conference of the Parties on Implementation”. There was supposed to be a conference on how to achieve the above Commitments to stop global warming and Transition to cleaner energy.

Granted, this was just wishful thinking – especially with Waves Inward-looking nationalism around the world threatens global cooperation On issues such as climate change. The conference eventually concluded with another round of promises to do something about it later, and appeals to countries not to turn their backs on the process.

On Saturday, I received a WhatsApp message shortly after the talks concluded with a statement from former President of Ireland and staunch climate action advocate Mary Robinson via the GSCC. “This deal is not ideal and a far cry from what science requires,” Robinson’s statement said. “But at a time when multilateralism is being tested, it is important that countries continue to move forward together.”

For an event that is all about “execution”, a lot of the planning went wrong. Belém is considered a gateway city to the Amazon region, and it was initially expected that holding the conference there would highlight the important role that forests like the Amazon play in combating climate change by sequestering planet-warming carbon. But to host about 50 thousand attendees and officials Deforestation to pave a new highway and It brought huge diesel-powered cruise ships As temporary accommodation for visitors.

Indigenous demonstrators who depend on and protect these forests have led protests to denounce some of the hypocrisy and demand a halt to the resource extraction and deforestation that is destroying their lands. At one point, the demonstrators clashed with security to reach the place, and some of them were carrying banners that read: “Our forests are not for saleA few days later, members of the Munduruku people from the Amazon Basin and their allies came It formed a human blockade Outside COP’s entrance Demand stronger protection of forests and their lands.

There was Registration number of indigenous participants in this year’s Conference of the Parties. But this was also true for Fossil fuel lobbyistswhich outnumbered the number of delegations of every country at this event except Brazil.

Maybe it was a kind of poetic justice (but maybe it was his reason electrical problem) — On Thursday, one day before the conference was scheduled to end, A A short fire broke out In place and burned through the roof. The evacuation process caused negotiations to halt for hours. While COP meetings often take extra time, this year there was extra pressure to wrap things up before those meetingsThe cruise ships were scheduled to sail on Saturday.

The conference effectively closed its doors on Saturday, and two major initiatives that had begun to take shape at the COP fell through. More than 80 countries It has expressed its support for formalizing a “roadmap” for the transition away from fossil fuels. 90 countries came together to demand another road map to end deforestation. the Formal agreement What came out of this year’s conference made no mention of fossil fuels or deforestation. I think the consolation prize is Andre Correa do Lago, President of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30). pledge To continue working on creating these roadmaps over the next year.

There were other frosty ones Steps taken In Belem. Brazil recognized 10 new indigenous territories. Billions of dollars in additional funding have been pledged for forest conservation and climate adaptation projects, although far less than many attendees say is needed. Environmental defenders celebrate “Just transitional work programme“, an agreement aimed at ensuring that the deployment of carbon-free energy is more equitable and centered on human rights.

But the fossil fuel industry scored its own win by delaying the roadmap to reduce the use of coal, oil and gas. The federal government of the United States, the world’s largest oil and gas producer, has decided to skip talks entirely this year as the Trump administration tries to increase fossil fuel production — a move that has taken pressure off other oil and gas producing nations.

“While we welcome the strengthened provisions on the Just Transition Action Agenda, these gains at COP30 are decisively curtailed by the disappointing omission of any reference to fossil fuels in the final text,” said Ivy Kilimanjaro, Executive Director of the US Climate Action Network, in a report. press release. “The failure to identify and address the root cause of the climate crisis undermines the credibility of the entire process.”