November 21, 2025
(Bloomberg) – Brazilian officials running high-level United Nations climate talks are readying a preliminary agreement that ignores demands from about 80 nations to further develop plans to transition away from fossil fuels.
Brazil, which oversees the COP30 summit taking place in the Amazonian city of Belém, was on track to present delegates with the next draft of an agreement Thursday, though delays were expected following an afternoon fire that forced the evacuation of the conference venue.
The coming draft of the so-called mutirão decision will likely omit references to a fossil fuel road map, according to people familiar with the matter. Countries that are more progressive on climate policy have said the road map is an essential next step to make good on a two-year-old commitment, forged at COP28, to move away from oil, gas and coal.
Brazil is still conducting shuttle diplomacy and the draft text is subject to change ahead of publication, according to the people, who declined to be named as talks are ongoing.
The push to exit from fossil fuels has long been one of the most controversial aspects of the annual UN climate talks. COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago has said there’s “significant resistance” to an agreement that envisages next steps away from fossil fuels.
Dozens of countries have registered opposition, according to a person familiar with the matter. COP30 is due to end Friday evening, though negotiations typically run into overtime. The final agreement must be adopted by consensus.
Colombia, one of the major backers of the fossil fuel road map, has been expected to launch a declaration in favor of the proposal on Thursday. The European Union, UK and other nations are also still pressing for some kind of transition pathway, said a person familiar with the matter.
The EU put forward a proposal Wednesday to create a “mutirão road map” to accelerate the energy transition, building on the pledge adopted two years ago to transition away from fossil fuels.
“We very much support the road map,” EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said Wednesday evening. “We need to keep our ambitions high when it comes to lowering the emissions. It requires implementation.”
The dispute over fossil fuels has come down to the end before. At COP28 in Dubai, the UAE presidency issued a draft text that left out any reference to moving away from polluting sources of energy. That triggered a pushback by a majority of countries and ultimately led to its inclusion.
Image credited to Shell
