André Corrêa do Lago, Brazil’s diplomat chairing the two-week summit in Belém, said the “reduction in enthusiasm of the global north” contrasts with movement across the global south.
China, the world’s biggest emitter and top producer and consumer of low-carbon power, is “coming up with solutions that are for everyone,” he told reporters, citing cheaper solar panels that now outcompete fossil fuels.
Ministers and senior officials from 194 countries will use COP30 to map how to stay within — or as close as possible to — the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C warming limit, set a pathway to phasing out fossil fuels, and secure support for poorer nations. Top of the agenda are stronger national plans to cut greenhouse gases; current pledges would put the world on course for around 2.5°C of warming.
Vulnerable states want a clear route to deeper cuts. Ilana Seid, Palau’s ambassador to the U.N. and spokesperson for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), said progress “so far has been insufficient” and called for a global pathway to tougher targets. “The 1.5°C target must be our north star,” she said, adding that countries should acknowledge they are falling short and “have a response.”
Brazil, the host, is stressing “implementation” — turning existing commitments into action, including emissions cuts, tripling renewable energy by 2030 and doubling energy efficiency. AOSIS argues those steps must be paired with faster policies to curb emissions, or the 1.5°C goal will slip out of reach. Poorer countries also want assurances that promised finance to protect them from climate impacts will flow. A roadmap to move the world off fossil fuels is also due for debate.
Despite months of Brazilian diplomacy to avoid an opening-day fight over the agenda, sharp disagreements over priorities are still likely.
As talks begin, one flagship promise is already under strain. The Global Methane Pledge — launched at COP26 in 2021 by the U.K., U.S., EU and others to cut methane 30% by 2030 and later joined by about 159 countries — is being undermined by rising emissions among key signatories, according to satellite analysis firm Kayrros.
Collectively, methane emissions from six major signatories — the United States, Australia, Kuwait, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Iraq — are 8.5% above 2020 levels, Kayrros data show. Kuwait and Australia have made progress, but emissions from U.S. oil and gas operations have risen 18%.
“Despite the promises made year after year, despite the worsening state of the climate, methane emissions are rising,” said Antoine Rostand, president of Kayrros. “Can we expect things to change? We must at least hope they do. The clock is ticking.”
Methane, about 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over the short term and responsible for roughly a third of recent warming, is seen as an “emergency brake” on temperatures if curbed quickly. But countries have yet to adopt the measures needed, critics say.
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Source: The Guardian, Euronews