Pause as a chaotic COP30 closes out

JABS about greedy children, boos for the Vatican, and proceedings suspended for more than an hour: the COP30 finale unfolded with the same chaotic energy that defined the summit, exposing the rifts that came close to derailing a deal.

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Andre Correa do Lago, the dapper Brazilian diplomat who presided over the two-week affair in Belem, opened the final plenary at the weekend afternoon, nearly a full day behind schedule, after nations worked through the night to find a text they could all live with.

Bleary-eyed delegates took their seats, eager to see the marathon talks finally come to an end.

The summit in this rough-around-the-edges Amazonian city had already been interrupted twice by Indigenous protesters last week - once when they breached the compound and clashed with security, another time when they blocked delegates from entering - before a fierce blaze last week triggered a panicked evacuation.