COP30 Fails to Move Forward on Fossil Fuel Transition

The 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference ended on November 21st in Bélem, Brazil - without any mention of fossil fuel reduction measures. After COP28 ended in 2023 with nations agreeing to the “beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era, the global community expected concrete measures on fossil fuel phase-out to be on this year’s “Implementation COP” - but not even the words “fossil fuel” made it into the final statement. 

Day 13 of Cop30 Brasil (credit)

More than 80 countries, including the UK and EU member states, committed to stop using oil, coal, and gas at a faster pace. South Korea, which x the world’s seventh largest coal fleet, pledged a halt on new plant construction and a phase-out of current plants. However, with the combined pressures from a bloc of the world’s major oil nations - including Saudi Arabia, Russia, and their allies - over 100 nations opposed roadmaps to fossil fuel detransition. 

This development comes during a difficult time for climate change response and recognition, complicated by the American president’s increasingly vocal climate skepticism. Back in September, Trump spent a significant portion of his UN General Assembly address claiming that renewable energy sources “don’t work” and are “too expensive”. The Trump administration did not send a delegation to COP30 - a first since the inaugural Conference of Parties (COP) in 1995. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the Associated Press that COP30 would be “essentially a hoax”. Despite this, a coalition of 100 US leaders - including California governor Gavin Newsom - were in attendance. 

As for Canada, though a delegation was sent, Prime Minister Mark Carney did not show up at COP30. Instead, the Prime Minister focused on securing support for a new expansion of polluting domestic oil and gas projects, including a new heavy oil pipeline extending from Alberta’s oil sands to the Pacific Coast. Activists from the Climate Action Network awarded Canada the satirical “fossil of the day” title at COP30 for this project and for the country's lack of leadership during the conference.