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After an opening call by Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to discuss a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels at COP30, countries are starting to rally behind the idea, with experts saying it could lead to an agreement in Belém to move forward on the idea.
Brazilian Environment Minister Marina Silva hosted ministers from the UK and Germany at Brazil’s COP pavilion on Wednesday to launch a call for a planned shift away from fossil fuels, with support from Denmark, Kenya, Colombia, France and the Marshall Islands.
“We need a dialogue with everyone – producers, consumers and those who are affected by our actions. We need a compass to guide us away from our dependency on fossil fuels,” said Silva, who first suggested the idea in London in June.
UK climate envoy Rachel Kyte told the COP30 event that “there is a way for us to walk out of here with a roadmap to manage the transition away from fossil fuels, [to] manage their just transitions, but also manage what was set out in the Paris Agreement.”
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“Jigsaw” of initiatives
Observers at the UN climate talks told Climate Home News that while several proposals for a fossil fuel transition roadmap have emerged, it remains unclear how they could land in the formal climate talks, as the topic is not on the negotiating agenda.
An agreement to start working on a roadmap could be included in a cover decision for the talks – a general text brokered by the COP presidency at some summits – or in any of the established formal negotiations on cutting emissions, they said.
The Environmental Integrity Group – composed of Mexico, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Korea, Switzerland and Georgia – also expressed support for the Brazil-led initiative and have even submitted a proposal to discuss a roadmap in the negotiating rooms.
But the EIG proposal was rejected by oil-producing countries in the Arab group – among them Saudi Arabia, which last year blocked all mentions of fossil fuels at COP29. Major coal producers in the Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDCs) – among them China and India – are also opposed.
Colombia has opted for a different approach, seeking support for a political declaration on a planned fossil fuel transition outside of the UN climate talks, which is so far backed by small islands and Panama, one observer told Climate Home News.
The country also announced on Thursday a plan to make the Colombian Amazon free of fossil fuels and large-scale mining, which picks up on campaigners’ calls to create oil and gas “exclusion zones” such as across biodiversity-rich areas. Colombia will also host a fossil fuel phase-out summit in 2026.
The “jigsaw” of initiatives and the “diplomatic heavyweights” supporting it suggests there is a “growing sense that this needs to be part of the final package” in Belém, according to Romain Ioualalen, global policy campaign manager with Oil Change International.
“Now the job for the next few days is giving confidence to the [COP30] presidency that there is a broad base of support for this,” he said, adding that countries also need to pin down how such a roadmap could look.
Climate-hit nations hail loss and damage fund’s debut call for proposals
COP host lukewarm
But while Brazil’s political leadership is pushing the fossil fuel transition up the agenda, the COP30 presidency’s top diplomats have distanced themselves. On Wednesday, COP30 President André Correa do Lago said it was not an item on the agenda, and COP30 CEO Ana Toni reiterated the same point on Thursday, after several countries had voiced support for the discussions.
“The topic is not – at the moment at least – in the negotiations, and we will need to see how parties come together,” Toni told a press conference in Belém.
Brazil has been caught up in controversy for awarding a drilling license to state-oil company Petrobras near the mouth of the Amazon River just days before COP30. The Amazon Basin has emerged as a new oil and gas frontier, with growing production plans.
“It’s shameful”: Amazon Indigenous people call for oil drilling ban at COP30
The South American country is also one of the 20 major oil and gas producers planning to expand their fossil fuel output in the next decade, according to this year’s Production Gap report, and is set for one of the largest oil expansions alongside Saudi Arabia and the US.
Meanwhile, Indigenous activists who have been affected by new oil and gas drilling in their territories ramped up calls for this COP to address fossil fuels.
Olivia Bisa, leader of the Chapra nation in the Peruvian Amazon whose land is crossed by a large oil pipeline, told an event at COP30 that Indigenous people are “giving their lives” fighting back.
“Some weeks ago, a brother leader in my territory was murdered. I don’t want his death to remain unpunished, just for defending life. We are defenders of life,” she said. “We need support in this fight – not just at COPs but in our territories where we’re exposing our lives.”
The post At COP30, roadmap away from fossil fuels gains ground – but next step unclear appeared first on Climate Home News.
At COP30, roadmap away from fossil fuels gains ground – but next step unclear
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Prepared by a coalition of nine Western Australian union, industry, conservation, and community organisations—including UnionsWA, the Conservation Council WA, and the Smart Energy Council—the WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan provides a practical roadmap to transform Western Australia into a clean energy powerhouse while creating thousands of secure local jobs.
Western Australia stands at a pivotal crossroads: lead the global clean energy economy or watch investment, future industries, and secure jobs go elsewhere. The WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan outlines a transformative blueprint to harness the state’s world-class solar and wind resources. Discover how legislated renewable targets, green iron manufacturing, and a dedicated regional training strategy can generate tens of thousands of local jobs, lower household bills, and build a resilient, net-zero future for all Western Australians.
WA needs a clear and forward-thinking plan if it is going to become a competitive renewable energy powerhouse and maintain its economic strength through the energy transition.
“Western Australians know a faster renewable energy transition will lower their household expenses and prevent harmful climate pollution. But the community also needs clear direction to ensure this transition will create jobs, lower costs and not cause undue environmental harm.
“Here, sectors representing a broad range of interests have laid the groundwork for those outcomes, clearly outlining what is needed to create a future for WA that is good for the environment, for the climate, for workers and for the economy.
Summary
The WA Clean Energy, Jobs & Industry Plan sets out a strategic roadmap to position Western Australia as a global clean energy superpower while creating thousands of secure local jobs.
The report establishes three overarching goals:
- Creating local employment.
- Maintaining industrial competitiveness.
- Lowering household energy costs
To realize this vision, the framework details actionable measures to follow on from the recent WA Government announcement of a 75% Renewable Energy Target by 2031 for the South West Interconnected System. This includes developing a statewide Renewable Energy Target, coordinating statewide workforce and training pipelines, strategically planning regional infrastructure to safeguard high-value biodiversity and cultural heritage, and ensuring equitable benefit-sharing through household electrification incentives and First Nations equity partnerships. Ultimately, the plan highlights that establishing clear policy and regulatory certainty will unlock lower energy bills, boost power reliability, and secure the state’s global competitiveness in emerging green commodity export markets.
Key Findings
- Statewide Renewable Energy Target and Emissions Reduction Targets: The report calls for a statewide RET and 1.5°C aligned emission reduction targets to remove policy risk, lower capital costs, and attract clean energy investment.
- Transformative Job Creation: Accelerating the transition offers massive employment prospects, including up to 8,800 solar and battery jobs by 2050, as well as 24,000 ongoing and 11,000 construction jobs in a commercial green iron industry.
- Industrial Electrification & Competitiveness: Requiring large gas users to adopt binding electrification timetables and providing concessional financing will protect existing energy-intensive manufacturers from rising energy costs and impending domestic gas shortfalls.
- Green Commodity Export Leadership: Western Australia can build new export markets in green iron, green ammonia, and offshore oil/gas decommissioning by constructing shared common-user infrastructure and setting dedicated Green Commodity Export Targets.
- Coordinated Workforce & Training Pipeline: To address critical skill shortages the plan recommends establishing a WA Clean Energy Jobs Plan 2050, three regional training hubs, and dedicated pathways for female and under-represented apprentices.
- Environmental Safeguards & Community Benefits: Fast-tracked development must be paired with State Planning Policies that avoid high-biodiversity and cultural heritage lands, mandate new data centres to run on additional renewable power, and deliver household electrification rebates and First Nations equity partnerships.
What you can do
WA has an opportunity to lead on sustainable, clean energy and associated industries. You can help by:
- Sending an email to Environment Minister Murray Watt and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, calling on them to reject Browse.
- Sharing this story to help more Australians understand what’s at stake.
- Encouraging your friends and family to take action.
Countries have completed the first “global review” of their progress towards reversing nature loss by 2030 at the COP17 biodiversity talks in Yerevan, Armenia.
The review “notes with deep concern” that, unless action is “rapidly accelerated”, the goal to reverse nature loss and meet a set of 23 targets by 2030 “will not be achieved”.
It “urges” countries to accelerate action, including by “increased ambition in addressing the gaps”.
Much of the discussions in Yerevan focused on how to raise the necessary funds to help developing countries protect nature.
Some major economies pushed to expand the range of nations that are expected to provide finance, with countries agreeing at the end of the two weeks of talks that non-donors that want to contribute can “signal interest” before COP18.
This came after developed countries failed to meet a target to significantly ramp up nature finance over the last few years.
It also came as a landmark fund agreed at COP16 in Colombia to pay communities for the genetic resources derived from nature stands nearly empty two years on.
The Yerevan talks marked the halfway point of the “Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework” (GBF), the “Paris Agreement for nature” first made in 2022 and due to be achieved by 2030.
During the nearly 12-hour-long final plenary, countries voted for Quito, Ecuador, to host the COP18 nature talks, which will be held in 2028.
Countries managed to sign off on all the major negotiation texts, marking a stark contrast to COP16, which ran so far over time that the Colombian presidency lost “quorum”, forcing talks to resume in Rome months later.
Below, Carbon Brief has detailed analysis of all of the key outcomes from COP17.