Brazil extends COP30 negotiations as nations clash over climate finance, fossil fuels and EU carbon border tax, with 1.5C target at stake.
BELÉM: Climate negotiations at the COP30 summit extended into Monday night as host nation Brazil pushed for compromises on deeply divisive issues.
COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago acknowledged the difficulty but said all parties thought it was “worth a try” to reach agreement.
He extended the program so negotiators could “continue working at night” with a deadline set for Tuesday evening to finalise significant portions of the text.
No progress has been made on reconciling differences over weak climate commitments, insufficient financial pledges and trade measures.
China and India are leading opposition to the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which targets carbon-intensive imports.
China’s delegation head Li Gao urged nations to “avoid the negative impact of, for example, geopolitical unilateralism or protectionism.”
EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra defended carbon pricing as “something that we need” and refused to discuss CBAM as a unilateral trade measure.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell urged negotiators to tackle “the hardest issues fast” to avoid going into overtime when the summit closes Friday.
Money remains central to negotiations, with developing countries criticizing the $300 billion annual climate finance pledge from developed nations as insufficient.
African nations want COP30 to explicitly blame developed countries for falling short on climate financing.
Another major division involves how to respond to projections showing the world will fail to limit warming to 1.5C.
Small island states consider the 1.5C limit a “non-negotiable survival threshold” according to Palau’s environment minister Steven Victor.
Fossil fuels remain contentious, with Brazil pushing for stronger language despite opposition from major oil-producing nations.
A European delegate noted that while phasing out fossil fuels is essential to solving the climate crisis, “they are not talking about it in the negotiating rooms.”
Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin urged ministers to agree to “integrated action plans” for transitioning away from fossil fuels. – AFP
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