The Cop30, the UN climate conference in Belém, ended on Saturday (22) almost 27 hours late, after tense negotiations that resulted in a final agreement without Brazil's plan for reducing fossil fuels. The text advanced on adaptation financing and recognized the roles of indigenous and afrodescendant communities, but disappointed NGOs for lacking ambition on emissions. Tensions marked the final plenary, with criticism from Colombia and defense of the Brazilian presidency.
The Cop30 conference, held in Belém from November 10 to 22, 2025, was marked by exhaustive negotiations that exceeded the original Friday (21) deadline by almost 27 hours, ending at 8:15 p.m. Saturday. The delay, common in Cop's since 2003, was worsened by a fire in the negotiation zone on Thursday (20), interrupting deliberations for over six hours.
The final agreement, known as the Mutirão Decision, excluded the 'roadmap' proposed by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for transitioning away from fossil fuels, due to resistance from Arab countries and EU maneuvers to limit financial advances. The EU threatened to implode negotiations without fossil mention but accepted the text after securing modest financing goals, such as tripling adaptation resources by 2035 compared to 2025 – a value not yet calculated.
In the final plenary, Colombia accused President André Corrêa do Lago of lacking transparency and threatened to block the text for the absence of explicit fossil transition. Corrêa do Lago apologized for technical failures and fatigue. Russia and India defended the presidency, with Russia calling critics 'children.' The document recognized for the first time the role of afrodescendants, indigenous peoples, and gender in the climate crisis, and created a two-year program for financial transfers from rich to developing countries.
Minister Marina Silva, given a standing ovation, vowed to pursue the fossil plan as a Brazilian initiative via 'Belém Mission for 1.5°C.' NGOs like Greenpeace and WWF praised social advances but criticized weakness on fossils and vague adaptation indicators. Harjeet Singh from the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation accused the EU of hypocrisy and sabotage.
