COP30 enters 2nd week with nothing but words

THE UN climate summit in Brazil is in its second and final week. Negotiators have till November 21 to untangle the knots they have not been able to resolve in the 29 meetings since Berlin 1995.

- SOUMYA SARKAR @Belém (Brazil)

Delegates must navigate four major sticking points — climate finance, weak national climate plans, trade, and transparency. Officials have moved these issues into separate closed-door consultations. That alone signals how hard it is to find consensus.

The world is warming faster than expected this year. Scientists say 2025 is on track to become one of the hottest years ever recorded. Yet delegates in Belém spent most of their time restating old positions.

The biggest fight is over money. The Baku-to-Belém Roadmap aims to raise $1.3 trillion annually by 2035 for poor countries struggling with the impacts of climate change. The plan calls for reforming development banks and attracting private investors. But delegates could not decide how much would come from government budgets versus private companies.