On Saturday afternoon, the gavel came down on COP30 after two weeks of intense debate and battles on the ground. The final declaration shows that our movement has forced real progress onto the agenda. And yet, it also shows how far we still have to travel.
Crushingly, COP ended without a deal on fossil fuels. But this just reinforces our call for a separate fossil fuel treaty. With more than 80 countries demanding a road map to end the fossil fuel age, and the first fossil fuel treaty summit planned for the Spring, this is no longer a distant dream.
Elsewhere, COP30 made history by agreeing the need for a just transition, with the strongest language on human, labour and indigenous rights ever agreed. We must go further. Indeed the agreement on climate finance was far too weak. But we at least have a basis for a negotiation on the economic transformation needed to halt climate change.
We also put the toxic ISDS system firmly on the agenda and joined the Colombian government to tell delegates that this undemocratic protection of fossil fuel interests is incompatible with climate action.
Here are 5 key takeaways from COP:
1. The movement for a Fossil Fuel Treaty is stronger than ever
COP30 ended with no deal on fossil fuels, as petro-states and fossil fuel lobbyists stymied any mention of the major cause of climate change. And this wasn’t helped by countries like the UK working to obstruct a just transition and refusing to put proper funding on the table.
But that’s not the end of the story. We’ve been working for a Fossil Fuel Treaty for two years now, precisely because COP cannot achieve the end of fossil fuels as long as summits are held hostage by vested interests.
The Treaty shone a ray of hope on COP30, with the Colombian and Dutch governments using the summit to announce details of the first international conference on the just transition away from fossil fuels, which will be held in Colombia in April. Thank you for playing a part in getting the Treaty this far.
