COP30, a grim takeaway
November 30, 2025 from Deb F
Another COP wrecked by fossil fuel interests and global leaders’ cowardice. Key observations:
- 5000 indigenous people were there, but unable to vote or attend closed door meetings.
- The power of protests – protests happened every day, most notable an Indigenous led “great people’s march” on the Middle Sat.
- US absence created a vacuum, and an opportunity. In an historic first, America did not send an official delegation. China took an unexpected leadership role.
- Implementation through side deals – not the main stage – such as the Belem pledge, committed signatories to quadruple sustainable fuels production and use by 2035.
- The Global transition text – more than 80 countries signed the text for a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels. But when the final deal was agreed, key references to fossil fuel phase out were missing. Opposition from Saudi Arabia, India and other fuel producers watered it down.
Warming is going to exceed 1.5°C*. Humanity is living beyond limits.
- Exceed 1.5°C and not only do extreme climate events grow in number and severity, but we are also approaching tipping points for large, Earth-regulating systems like the Amazon rainforest, the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets, and loss of tropical coral reef system.
- Immediate action at global scale and on multiple fronts is required.
- Accelerate fossil fuel phase-out.
- Transform the global food system to absorb 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year and store it safely in the ground.
- Need to ensure continued “health” and resilience in nature on land and in the ocean.
* Due to the underlying warming trend combined with natural climate variability like El Niño events, annual and monthly averages have already exceeded the 1.5°C mark. The year 2024 was the first calendar year to register an annual temperature anomaly exceeding 1.5°C. The World Meteorological Organization predicts there is a 70% chance that the 5-year average for 2025 to 2029 will be more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
While many delegates and world leaders are beginning to doubt the efficacy of COP summits, it is the only global forum to tackle the climate crisis.
COP 31 (2026) will be held in Turkey amidst geopolitical headwinds, including a US president who shunned the talks, the rising tide of right wing populist conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, intolerable levels of inequality, and global economic uncertainty.
Footnote: Canada had a full official delegation to COP 30 led by Environment and Climate Change Minister Julie Dabrusin, and included a diverse group of representatives from civil society, Indigenous communities, youth, business, plus provincial and territorial governments.
