Contention Over Fossil Fuels Erupts at COP30 UN Climate Summit in Brazil

Sat Nov 22 2025 01:36:53 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The COP30 UN climate talks in Belém, Brazil face serious disagreements over fossil fuel usage and climate commitments as nations clash on how to reduce emissions effectively.

A significant conflict has emerged at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil, focusing on the urgent need to reduce fossil fuel use to combat climate change. Countries are at odds over the terms of a potential agreement that could either strengthen or undermine efforts initiated in earlier negotiations. As deadlines loom and negotiations extend into overtime, nations are grappling with differing priorities and financial commitments, making the path to consensus increasingly complex.

A bitter row over fossil fuels has broken out at the COP30 UN climate talks in Belém, Brazil, as the meeting formally runs over time.

At the heart of the row is a disagreement over how strong a deal should be on working to reduce the world's use of fossil fuels, whose emissions are by far the largest contributor to climate change.

The dispute pits groups of countries against each other, but all 194 parties must agree in order to pass a deal at the two-week summit.

Representatives and observers from inside a guarded negotiating room say the talks have become very difficult.

One negotiator inside the room told the BBC that there is a lot of fighting.

The talks were meant to finish at 1800 local time (2100GMT) and will now spill into overtime.

But the cruise ships that many delegations are staying on due to lack of accommodation in Belém depart the city on Saturday, piling on the pressure.

Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and some countries including the UK want the summit to commit nations to stronger, faster action to reduce their use of fossil fuels.

It would advance a deal made two years ago, at COP28 in Dubai, that committed countries to transition away from fossil fuels.

A first draft of an agreement in Brazil offered three options including timeframes, but the latest version has no mention of fossil fuels.

French Environment Minister Monique Barbut said the deal was being blocked by oil-producing countries - Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, but joined by many emerging countries. She added: As it stands now, we have nothing left.

The BBC has approached Saudi Arabia for comment.

Speaking to journalists outside the negotiating room, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband said the UK was determined to keep alive at the talks a plan to take further action on fossil fuels.

It's hard, it's sweaty, it's frustrating. There's a big divergence of views, he said.

We are determined that one way or another, this innovative idea, with the support of more than 80 countries to have a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels, is kept alive at this COP, he said.

Some developing countries have not backed the deal on fossil fuels because they want richer nations to first deliver on promises to give climate finance to help them cope with or adapt to the effects of climate change.

We need adaptation financing because we are already doing a lot to reduce emissions, Aisha Moriana, head of Pakistan's delegation, told BBC News.

When asked if Pakistan would support the fossil fuel deal if it received new promises about finance, Ms. Moriana replied: That is something which cannot happen in a few hours, and it requires a lot of financing.

In the hallways, groups of campaigners are chanting fossil fuels out and hanging banners saying Stop Amazon oil and 1.5C under threat: time to act.

A good outcome could mean giving us a future and a present that it is worth fighting for, International Youth Climate Movement campaigner Shurabe Mercado, from Mexico told BBC News.

Some observers question the value of the complex, legalistic talks which almost always over-run. However, others point to the significant advances in measures to tackle climate change, including renewable energy, electric vehicles, and protection of nature in recent years linked to COP agreements.

This two-week meeting has been interrupted by two evacuations due to protests and a fire incident, highlighting the intensity of the discussions taking place.