Brazil hopes to reach an agreement without delay on some of the most controversial issues at the COP30 climate summit, after revealing a bold negotiating strategy that had delegates working until the early hours of Tuesday morning (18).
The two-week summit in the Amazon city of Belém brings together governments from around the world to strengthen the complex UN structure that underpins global action to halt rising temperatures and deal with the damage caused by them.
Brazil, the host country, wants an agreement in two stages: a package on Wednesday (19), including items that, a week ago, were considered too thorny to be included in the formal agenda, and another that closes pending issues until Friday (21).
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At the start of COP30, it was unclear whether there would be an attempt to negotiate a final agreement to end the summit.
‘I think it’s a bold move. It could work, although it is also a risk, because why would the parties move if they knew there was still time,’ said a European negotiator.
Guterres returns
UN Secretary-General António Guterres returned to Belém on Tuesday and will meet with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Wednesday.
Lula said the meeting aims to ‘strengthen climate governance and multilateralism’.
Tougher topics include figuring out how rich countries will provide financing for poorer countries to switch to clean energy and what should be done about the gap between promised emissions cuts and those needed to stop rising temperatures.
Some nations, including Brazil, want a roadmap to help countries implement an agreement reached at COP28 in 2023 to phase out the use of fossil fuels.
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Contrary to the expectations established by the recent COP summits — which far exceeded the scheduled time — the president of COP30 in Brazil, André Corrêa do Lago, said at the end of Monday (17) that he had the support of the participants to press hard for a result without delay.
Negotiations took place until after midnight and were scheduled to run late again on Tuesday.
Differences
Two negotiators and two external observers, who are permitted to participate in the negotiations, separately described to the Reuters a wide range of disagreements that have not yet been resolved.
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Issues such as the provision of finance have long pitted developed countries, many of which are dealing with tight public finances and competing domestic priorities, including security, against more vulnerable nations such as small island states under the existential threat of rising seas.
Some of these differences were captured in the COP30 presidency’s draft, which presented a wide range of options for the final wording of key issues, giving little sign of where the final agreement would arrive.
One observer told Reuters that delegates were having difficulty moving towards agreements.
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‘They put all the controversial issues in one room, and whenever an argument gained momentum, someone would deflect it by bringing up something else.’
