Denial, division, geopolitics dealt heavy blows to global cooperation this year: UN climate chief Stiell after COP

Belem (Brazil): As the curtains came down at the UN COP30 summit after two weeks of hectic negotiations, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said "denial, division and geopolitics" have hit hard on international cooperation this year.

The UN climate talks in Brazil ended with a pledge of more funding for countries to adapt to the wrath of extreme weather. But it did not include a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels.

In his statement on COP30 Climate Summit outcomes, Stiell said that the global body is probably not winning the climate battle, but parties are still in it and are fighting back with resolve.

"We knew this COP would take place in stormy political waters. Denial, division and geopolitics has dealt international cooperation some heavy blows this year," he said.

Stiell, however, said that the COP30 Summit showed that climate cooperation is alive and kicking, keeping humanity in the fight for a livable planet with a firm resolve to keep 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach.

"Here in Belem, nations chose unity, science and economic common sense," he said.

Without naming the US, Stiell said that this year, there has been a lot of attention on one country stepping back.

The US in January this year withdrew from the historic Paris Agreement, which is a crucial understanding among world powers to arrest climate change.

"Amid the gale-force political headwinds, 194 countries stood firm in solidarity -- rock-solid in support of climate cooperation. These 194 countries representing billions of people have said in one voice that the Paris Agreement is working and resolved to make it go further and faster," Stiell said.

The 2015 Paris Agreement aims to substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to hold global temperature increase to well below 2 degrees Celsius and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels (with a baseline 1850-1900).

"We see progress in a new agreement on just transition, signalling that building climate resilience and the clean economy must also be fair, with every nation and every person able to share in its vast benefits. We see it in the agreement to triple adaptation finance," the Executive Secretary said.

The new agreement ensures that more countries will have the support they need, even as climate disasters wreck lives and slam into the global supply chains, on which every economy depends.

The 2025 Adaptation Gap Report estimates that developing countries will need between USD 310-365 billion annually by 2035, while current flows are around USD 26 billion only.

"For the first time, 194 nations said in unison that the global transition to low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilience is irreversible and the trend of the future. The countries agreed this word by word, because it is the truth, backed up by investment flows into renewables that now double fossil fuels," Stiell stressed.

He termed these new decisions as part of a "political and market signal" that cannot be ignored.

"In this new era, we must bring our process closer to the real economy to deliver concrete results faster and spread the benefits to billions more people. At COP30, through the Action Agenda, that is exactly what we did," he added.

Stiell also announced that a trillion dollars have been committed for clean grids, while hundreds of millions of hectares of forest, land and ocean have been protected or restored.

"Over 400 million people have become more resilient. These achievements are not a side-show -- they are real-world progress on the things billions of people care about most. Outside these halls, billions are asking basic questions -- will there be enough food for my family? "Will I be able to pay my fuel bill? Will my child breathe clean air? Are the people and places I love safe from the next flood, fire, or storm?" he asked.

The COP30 has started to deliver on these everyday concerns -- not perfectly or fast enough, but concretely, Stiell asserted.

"Markets are moving and a new economy is rising. The old polluting economy is running out of road. But disinformation is trying to keep it alive. Its impact runs deep. It has distorted the political landscape. It obscures the experiences of people around the world living under severe personal strain," he added.

Stiell highlighted that the multiple effects of climate change fuel fear and disinformation, then weaponise it.

"So, as climate pressures push up prices, economies destabilise and communities are put under strain. Disinformation actors are opportunistic. They exploit that anxiety. Everything is blamed except the real cause. A COP of truth is fighting back. It also means we must also be realistic," he added.

Stiell further said that many countries wanted to move faster on fossil fuels, finance and responding to spiralling climate disasters.

"I understand the frustrations and many of them I share. But let's not ignore how far this COP has moved us forward. With or without navigation aids, our direction is clear. The shift from fossil fuels to renewables and resilience is unstoppable," he said.

UN COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago in a press conference on November 15 had said that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) may come out with a new document on fossil fuels by October 2026 which is likely to present a roadmap for transition into a cleaner mode of transportation.

He had also said that there is a lack of in-depth data regarding fossil fuels and more information on the subject is needed before coming out with anything concrete.

Stiell said, "We have committed to speeding up the full implementation of national climate plans and to strive to do better, collectively and cooperatively, together with the Action Agenda, driving forward this acceleration." Mentioning the word 'Mutirao, spoken by the indigenous Tupi people of Brazil for a collective effort, he appealed to everyone to carry on this spirit in the days to come.

"Mutirao has won out here at COP30 and for that, I thank the Presidency, the people of Brazil, my colleagues in the Secretariat and all of you," Steill said.

Negotiators from 194 countries gathered here for the annual Conference of Parties (COP) to the UNFCCC. The COP30 summit took place at the Brazilian city of Belem in the Amazon region from November 10 to 21.

Disrupted by a massive fire at the main venue of COP30 on November 20, the negotiations extended till Saturday.