COP30 concluded in Belém, Brazil, after extended negotiations that delivered partial progress on climate action but left the core issue of fossil fuels unresolved. Countries agreed to triple adaptation finance by 2035, launch the two year “Mutirão” work programme on climate finance transparency, and adopt the broader “Belém package” on nature protection, Indigenous rights, gender responsive climate policy and financial transparency, alongside a Just Transition Mechanism and a call for more ambitious NDCs aligned with 1.5 °C.

Yet the final text removed all language on transitioning away from fossil fuels, and the updated climate plans submitted by 119 countries still cover only a small fraction of the emission cuts needed by 2035, leaving the world on a roughly 2.3-2.8 °C pathway. Key debates on fossil fuels and overall ambition are pushed to mid year talks and COP31, meaning COP30 will likely be remembered as a threshold moment where important frameworks advanced but the decisive shift away from fossil fuels was postponed.

As regards the next year, Turkey and Australia have reached a compromise that ends their long running standoff over COP31 hosting rights, with Turkey confirmed as host of the 2026 UN climate summit in Antalya and Australia’s climate minister Chris Bowen granted “exclusive authority” to lead the negotiations.