COP30 climate summit set for last-gasp showdown over fossil fuels, finance

Several nations want road map on shifting from oil, gas and coal to be part of the deal

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The COP30 climate summit was headed for a showdown on Nov 21 over the future of fossil fuels after host Brazil dropped efforts to develop a global plan to shift away from oil, gas and coal from its proposed deal.

A draft text for a deal for 2025's UN climate summit, released before dawn on Nov 21, contained no reference to fossil fuels, dropping entirely a range of options on the subject that had been included in an earlier version.

The issue has been one of the most contentious at the two-week conference of nearly 200 governments in Brazil's Amazon city of Belem.

A group of more than 30 nations sent a letter to the COP30 presidency late on Nov 20 saying they could not accept a deal which failed to include a commitment to develop a road map to transition away from fossil fuels.

That has set the stage for a showdown in the final hours of the conference, which is scheduled to end at 6pm local time.

Previous COP summits have blown past their deadlines before eventually reaching a compromise.

"We are disappointed with the text currently on the table," EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said in a statement, adding that it lacked ambition on action to cut emissions.