COP30 draft omits plan for exiting fossil fuels

BELEM: UN climate talks teetered onthe brink of collapse on Friday as negotiators released a final package that dropped all mention of fossil fuel phaseout roadmaps, an approach that was rejected by the EU, exposing a fundamental divide between developed and developing nations over who should bear the burden of emissions cuts.

- Jayashree Nandi

The draftagreement, uploaded early on Friday after nearly two weeks of negotiations, omitted the words “fossil fuels” or “roadmap” entirely — despite Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva publicly supporting such language.

China, India, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Russia rejected any prescriptive fossil fuel roadmap, according to a negotiator who asked not to be named, while around 30 countries led by Colombia warned they could not accepta deal without it.

“Under no circumstances are we going to accept this,” EU climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said in a statement. “We're really facing a no-deal scenario,” he added, while acknowledging there was still some time left for negotiations. The impasse underscored the challenge of achieving consensus among nearly 200 nations on how to address climate change while respecting different development needs and economic realities — especially in a year when the US — the second-largest polluter at presentand the largest when historic emissions are taken into account - has walked out.

Over 80 countries, including Australia, several European