Cop30
draft text omits mention of fossil fuel phase-out roadmap
Exclusive:
Summit leadership ignores letter from 29 nations threatening to block progress
without commitment to transition
Fiona
Harvey in Belem
Fri 21
Nov 2025 09.07 GMT
A new
draft text on the outcome of the Cop30 climate talks that contains no mention
of a phase-out of fossil fuels was published on Friday morning, despite
countries supporting such action having threatened to block any agreement
without it.
The
Guardian revealed on Thursday night that at least 29 nations supporting a
phase-out of fossil fuels at the climate summit had sent a letter to the
Brazilian Cop presidency threatening to block any agreement that did not
include such a commitment, in a significant escalation of tensions at the
crunch talks. The leaked letter demanded that the roadmap be included in the
outcome of the talks, which are due to end on Friday but are likely to continue
into the weekend.
An option
to start the process of drawing up a potential roadmap for the “transition away
from fossil fuels” was included in the first draft of a potential outcome from
the two weeks of talks, published on Tuesday. But early on Friday morning, a
“mutirão” text was published by the presidency which contained no mention of
the roadmap, and no mention of the term “fossil fuels”.
It was
not immediately clear how countries would respond to the proposal, but the
Guardian understands Brazil faced pressure from some petrostates – including
Saudi Arabia, Russia and some large fossil fuel consumers including India – to
omit the potential resolution.
Some of
the countries opposing the roadmap had threatened to walk out of the talks on
Thursday, before a fire broke out in part of the conference centre near the
delegations’ offices and talks were suspended for more than six hours.
A letter
to the presidency seen by the Guardian shows that many of the governments in
favour of a roadmap have set it as a “red line” for the talks.
It reads:
“We cannot support an outcome that does not include a roadmap for implementing
a just, orderly, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels. This
expectation is shared by a vast majority of Parties, as well as by science and
by the people who are watching our work closely. The world is looking to this
Cop to demonstrate continuity and progress after the Global Stocktake. Anything
less would inevitably be seen as a step backward.”
The
global stocktake refers to the historic decision made at Cop28 in Dubai in
2023, which set out for the first time a pledge by all countries to “transition
away from fossil fuels”, but set out no timeline for the transition and no
measures on how to achieve it.
Since
that commitment was signed, some countries – chiefly Saudi Arabia – have tried
to unpick it. In 2024, at the Cop29 talks in Azerbaijan, an attempt to
reconfirm the commitment failed in the face of opposition.
This
year, countries in favour of the phase-out took a different tack. Some started
to draw up proposals for a forum in which all countries could take part, to
discuss a possible roadmap for the transition. This would not require any
country to sign up to a firm deadline for a phase-out, and would allow all
countries to choose their own policies and pathways. The roadmap would not be
completed at this Cop but would take at least a year or more of work at future
Cops to be fully articulated.
More than
80 countries joined the initiative, and held a press conference on Tuesday to
announce their plans.
But this
was too much for the countries that are still opposed to such a commitment, led
by some members of a group known as the “like-minded developing countries”, a
loose grouping which includes Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran and Bolivia.
The
Guardian understands that the signatories to the letter in favour of the
phase-out of fossil fuels include: Austria, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Costa
Rica, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras,
Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Marshall Islands, México,
Monaco, the Netherlands, Panamá, Palau, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
the United Kingdom and Vanuatu.
Irene
Velez Torres, the environment minister of Colombia, told the Guardian: “The
letter emerged after the presidency presented a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ text that
we believe is insufficient for the level of ambition and implementation this
Cop must deliver – particularly regarding the need, clearly backed by science
and by people around the world, for a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels.
“This
Cop’s success cannot be measured by adopting a text at any cost. The true
success of this Cop lies in the quality of the outcome. Adopting a weak or
empty text would signal a failure of climate multilateralism and a failure to
future generations, who deserve a livable planet.”
Catherine
Abreu, director of the International Climate Politics Hub, said: “It’s clear
that a growing group won’t leave Belém without an ambitious package deal built
on four cornerstones: money for adaptation, better quality and accountability
for climate finance, a clear focus on tackling the biggest sources of climate
pollution – fossil fuels and deforestation – and a commitment to drive it all
with a just transition.
“… The
question is whether the Brazil presidency will choose to listen to them, with
time running out.”
The
fortnight of talks in Belém are scheduled to end on Friday evening but were
delayed by the fire, which caused some damage to the venue but in which no one
was hurt, and are likely to carry on into the weekend.
As the
talks reach their final hours, the row over the transition away from fossil
fuels is likely to dominate, but other issues also remain to be resolved,
including a response to the fact that countries’ national climate plans are too
weak to limit global heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels as set out in
the 2015 Paris agreement, and questions of finance, trade and transparency, and
how much cash developing countries will receive to help them adapt to the
impacts of the climate crisis.
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