Leaders at COP30 in Brazil failed to agree to place people over profits as a lack of unity, accountability and transparency chipped away at delivering the urgent and effective climate action needed, though there were some bright spots, Amnesty International said today at the end of the annual UN climate summit.
The headliner COP30 ‘Global Mutirão’ decision’ intended to bring global consensus on a range of priority climate actions during this summit billed as the “COP of truth.” Yet the final document avoided any mention of fossil fuels, the primary driver of climate change, failing to build on or even to reaffirm the commitment to “transition away” from fossil fuels agreed upon in COP28.
The fractious finale failed to garner consensus on a much-needed package including concrete plans for a fossil fuel phase out and an end to deforestation, as well as scaled up grants-based support for lower income countries. Climate finance provision is an obligation for high-income countries that lower income countries have for years been demanding be fulfilled, particularly to provide much more support to help them adapt to devastating current and future impacts of climate change for which they are not responsible, with needs estimated to be at least USD 300 billion per year.
“The COP30 Brazilian Presidency had vowed to ensure no one is left behind and every voice is heard and made strenuous efforts to broaden participation, which should be replicated. Yet the lack of participatory, inclusive, and transparent negotiations left both civil society and Indigenous Peoples, who answered the global mutirão call in large numbers, out of the real decision making. At the same time, a record number of fossil fuel lobbyists at COP30 showed who had the real access, leaving humanity, especially those already the most marginalized, to suffer the deadly consequences of their plans to continue fossil fuel expansion and to be the ones to pump the last barrel of oil,” said Ann Harrison, Climate Justice Advisor at Amnesty International.
“Nevertheless, people power, including by Indigenous Peoples, among them those on whose ancestral lands the conference took place, was out in force. Refusing to surrender to setbacks, it was instrumental in achieving a commitment to develop a Just Transition mechanism that will streamline and coordinate ongoing and future efforts to protect the rights of workers, other individuals and communities affected by fossil fuel phase out. We salute all those whose voices and actions led to this successful outcome and will be pushing for human rights, including of Indigenous peoples, to be respected and protected as the mechanism is developed.”
Systemic lack of inclusivity, compliance and accountability
Following a trend set in recent COPs, much of the so-called Mutirao process at COP30 was conducted behind closed doors with state delegations only, thereby resulting in a lack of oversight by civil society who could not observe the proceedings. This lack of transparency, along with the fractious consensus process and unchecked influence of the fossil fuel industry, continues to pose fundamental problems and gives a stronger voice to calls for reforms to the summit and its organizing body, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
As Leonela Moncayo, a young environmental activist who accompanied Amnesty International to COP30 said, “I did not come to Belém to ask for favours. I came to remind all states to respect human rights and that caring for the environment is not an expense — it is the best social and cultural investment a government can make. Allowing pollution and rights violations is not a show of political strength; it’s a show of indifference.”
Future climate summits will only generate effective results if everyone is not only able to follow what is happening in real time, but is also free to criticize, gather and peacefully demonstrate, and is meaningfully able to inform the design and outcome of effective global climate policies. Relatedly, decisions must be made based on a transparent assessment of the best available science; yet the threat of the growing global anti-science backlash also affected COP30, with some countries attempting to muddy the waters with dogmatic positions on science and gender, including by seeking to undermine the IPCC as the authoritative source on climate science.
Gaps in climate finance
COP30 was unable to deliver on firm commitments from high income countries for scaled up grants-based finance that lower income countries need for adaptation, instead merely urging them to “increase the trajectory of their collective provision” leaving individuals and communities at ever increasing risk of climate change related harms.
Fossil fuel companies continue to receive trillions in subsidies every year from governments and generate huge profits. As a part of the ongoing process to develop a UN Framework Tax Convention, the latest round of negotiations of which were running in parallel to COP in Nairobi, governments should introduce a polluter pays surtax applied to the global profits of fossil fuel companies.
“However, governments do not need to wait for global tax rules to be agreed. They should immediately impose profit surtaxes on fossil fuel companies and stop subsidizing fossil fuel production and use; these measures would go a long way to raising resources for urgently needed non debt-creating climate finance,” said Ann Harrison.
Looking ahead to 2026
Irrespective of what is included in the COP outcome documents, the International Court of Justice’s recent Advisory Opinion confirmed that states are required by law to “make good faith efforts” to tackle the climate crisis, that limiting warming to 1.5 degrees is the primary goal, and that states have duties to present and future generations to provide remedy and reparations for climate-related damage, including holding big polluters accountable.
All eyes will now be on COP31. Türkiye and Australia, who are sharing presidency duties, must demonstrate climate leadership by taking decisive and transparent actions to tackle climate change in line with their international obligations, as well as facilitating meaningful COP outcomes that actually deliver a full, fast, fair and funded fossil fuel phase out, and delivery of support for adaptation.
The two countries must also ensure an inclusive and accessible COP where the rights of all are protected and respected before, during and after the conference. The lived experiences and solutions of Indigenous Peoples, affected communities, women, children and youth, people of African descent, people living with disabilities and workers must be central to moving forward to achieving climate justice at the scale and pace needed. Australia must deliver on its commitment to work closely with Pacific nations, who continue to face the most immediate and existential threats posed by the climate crisis, to ensure their needs and priorities are no longer ignored.
“Against the race to the bottom at COP, driven by the procedural requirement for consensus, one ray of hope was the announcement of initiatives outside the UNFCCC process. Colombia announced the First International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, to be co-hosted with the Netherlands next April. It will bring together states that want to make progress towards defossilizing our economies while protecting workers, communities and rights holders through a ‘fast, fair and fully financed’ transition. This will feed into two inclusive and science-based roadmaps to be developed by the Brazilian presidency on transitioning away from fossil fuels and on ending deforestation,” said Ann Harrison.
“Amnesty will be following both sets of initiatives closely to ensure that human rights obligations are kept at the heart of the discussions.”