Climate accord a ‘win’ for global unity but fossil fuels untouched

Nations sealed a modest agreement at the UN climate summit in the Brazilian Amazon on Saturday as many countries swallowed weaker terms on a fossil fuel phaseout to preserve unity.

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COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago (C) hugs Brazil's Environment Minister Marina Silva after her speech at the COP30 UN Climate Change Conference in Belem, Para state, Brazil, on Saturday. - AFP

(AFP)

Nearly 200 countries approved the deal by consensus after two weeks of exhaustive negotiations on the fringes of the rainforest, with the notable absence of the United States as President Donald Trump shunned the talks.

Applause rang out as the gavel was brought down in steamy Belem, capping a dramatic summit that witnessed raucous protests, a damaging fire and massive street marches.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who staked political capital on the success of COP30, said the pact was proof that a fractured world could still unite in crisis.

"The international community faced a choice: to continue or to give up. We chose the first option,” Lula said in South Africa, where he was attending a G20 summit. "Multilateralism won."

There was less euphoria in Belem, where defeated European ministers admitted they only took the watered-down deal to keep the entire process from imploding.

"We're not going to hide the fact that we would have preferred to have more," said EU climate chief Wopke Hoekstra.