Belém, 22 November 2025 – COP30 was hyped as the first implementation COP, the first COP since the landmark ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate Change and the COP that would honour the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement. Expectations were high, but the outcomes, underwhelming.
The Climate Action Network came to this COP with demands for a justice package, which included the creation of the Belém Action Mechanism (BAM) for a Just Transition, the tripling of adaptation finance, the narrowing of the ambition gap caused by weak Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and a clear roadmap for the phase out of fossil fuels.
While negotiators ultimately agreed to create a Belém Action Mechanism, a hard-won victory from civil society pressure, the rest of the package fell far short. Adaptation finance outcomes were strikingly weak, with Parties failing to commit to tripling the Glasgow target for 2026–2029, and pushing back the target year to 2035. Effectively this means a doubling by 2030, but without a known baseline. This leaves frontline communities without the scaled-up support they urgently need. Even more alarming was the complete absence in the final decision text of the previously agreed language on fossil fuel phaseout from COP28. With no reference to a global road map and no acknowledgement of the need to phase out coal, oil, and gas, COP30 missed the chance to anchor the transition at the heart of the UN climate process.
The COP30 outcomes also fail to offer any credible response to the widening NDC ambition gap. While rich countries frequently highlight this gap, many barely met the deadline to submit their own NDCs, and, ten years after Paris, not a single one includes a timeline to phase out fossil fuels. The final text’s vague reference to “accelerating implementation of the UAE Consensus” is far too weak to drive the transformational mitigation action needed. With no clear process to strengthen NDCs and no signal that the biggest emitters will move first and fastest, COP30 falls short of the scientific imperative and the Paris Agreement’s core equity principles. We expect the EU to engage constructively in the parallel initiatives to transition away from fossil fuels launched by the Presidency and parties like Colombia but also keep all efforts to anchor this work into the Paris Agreement obligations.
Chiara Martinelli, Director at CAN Europe:
“Delivering BAM was a major civil society win, it creates a coordinated institutional home to drive forward progress on the Just Transition. Beyond this success though, COP30 leaves us with a grim picture when it comes to the whole justice package we came here for. Adaptation was sidelined, and fossil fuels were erased from the outcome. Ten years after Paris, we expected courage. Instead, world leaders delivered the bare, bare minimum.”
The EU did not meet the moment
The EU arrived in Belém promising to defend multilateralism, but its negotiating tactics told a different story. The EU repeatedly held up progress on finance in an effort to secure gains on fossil fuel phase-out. This included taking huge unnecessary risks to block the whole negotiation package and undermine the collaboration and trust with other parties, especially from the Global South. With the United States largely absent, Europe had a rare chance to step into a genuine leadership role it had prepared itself for; instead it ended up aligning with other delayers and contributed to a diluted outcome across the board.
Chiara Martinelli, Director at CAN Europe:
“The EU came to Belém speaking the language of leadership, but too often acted like a procrastinator, swooping in at the last minute with weak proposals. Europe cannot claim to defend multilateralism while playing tactical games that undermine trust and weaken ambition. The EU was not alone in blocking ambition, but the block signposted an easy hiding place for others.”
A moment for mobilisation, with missed chances for inclusion
The beginning of COP30 was energised by the Amazon, its people and the hope Parties in Belém could deliver with progress the locale inspired. This COP has been a stark reminder though, that meaningful climate action requires meaningful participation. For the first time in four years, the host country opened public spaces for civil society to organise, culminating in an inspiring People’s Summit in Belém that showcased cross-border cooperation and the power of collective action.
Yet inside the COP30 negotiations, dynamics have been affected by the ‘shuttle diplomacy’. The Brazilian Presidency failed to provide written reports or transparent updates during the crucial last days, leaving civil society and the press limited ability to monitor or assess the evolving discussions. As we mark the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, it is clear that conversations need to take place on UNFCCC reform to broaden participation, safeguard transparency, and ensure measures to stop corporate capture by fossil fuel lobbyists.
Pablo Chamorro, Campaigns and Mobilisations Network Coordinator at CAN Europe:
“Belém showed the strength of people’s movements on the streets and inside the negotiations venue through hundreds of creative protests pushing for our justice package, but the negotiations themselves fell far short of the openness that climate justice demands. If we want the Paris Agreement to continue to deliver into its second decade, we need a system that is transparent, inclusive, and truly accessible to those fighting for a liveable future.”
Javier Andaluz Prieto, Climate and Energy Coordinator for Ecologistas en Acción (Spain):
“The COP30 has been one of the most opaque summits in history. The Brazilian presidency has been incapable of moving towards a final, fair decision that would allow progress on climate justice. Apart from the BAM (Belém Action Mechanism), no progress has been made. Once again, governments worldwide are prioritizing their own interests, putting the lives of everyone at risk, particularly those of vulnerable people. We came to the Amazon seeking adequate funding and a roadmap for the end of fossil fuels and deforestation, one that would place people and ecosystems at the center of climate action. However, the final result has once again been a geopolitical clash that is costing us too much.”
Themed and detailed quotes from the CAN Europe network on the specifics of the negotiations:
Just Transition
James Trinder, International Climate Policy Coordinator at CAN Europe:
“We welcome the agreement on the Belem Action Mechanism – a long overdue home for Just Transition in the UNFCCC and a vital institution to accelerate climate action, in line with the Paris Agreement, grounded in equity, solidarity, shared opportunity, and human rights. The BAM is a hard-won victory for people-centred climate action: protecting social dialogue, gender equality, disability, indigenous, and Afro-descendent inclusion, as well as the right to a clean, health, and sustainable environment and intergenerational equity, but the struggle for a just and liveable future continues.”
Gaïa Febvre, Head of International Policy, Climate Action Network France:
“For two weeks, we spoke of a ‘COP of truth’. And the truth is not a pleasant one: multilateralism is in distress, and the diplomacy conducted largely behind closed doors has not helped rebuild trust in the COP process. We needed more transparency, but also more honesty. Along with other developed countries, the European Union held the finance outcomes hostage until the very last moment, which, after numerous betrayals, did nothing to restore its credibility or strengthen its relationships with vulnerable countries. The disruptive tactics of several groups and of the Presidency weighed heavily on the process. Despite all these obstacles, a new mechanism on Just Transition has been agreed. This is a major victory for workers, young people, women, and all the civil society organisations who came to the COP demanding a framework that ensures climate action also protects jobs and improves people’s lives. Let us never forget that those who always pay the price of these blockages are the people and the most vulnerable.”
Stephanny Ulivieri, Secretary General, Youth and Environment Europe
“We came with a clear goal: to ensure young people’s voices and lived experiences shape UNFCCC decision-making. We, the youth, who contributed least to the triple planetary crisis, are and will suffer the most. With allies worldwide, we pushed for a justice package centered on a just transition, science, and climate-justice-based decisions on adaptation, finance, and the ambition gap. Today, we leave Belém with bittersweet feelings. The BAM decision, a major cross-constituency rights-based achievement, passed, but other negotiations saw no real progress. Fossil fuel ambition weakened, climate finance stagnated, and the ambition gap remains. Our fight continues. There’s no time to waste. Governments, especially in the Global North: we are watching.”
Agnes Schim van der Loeff, Policy Advisor Climate Justice, ActionAid Netherlands:
“The major achievement of this COP is the tangible outcome to make Just Transition a reality. For the first time, clear agreements will ensure that ordinary people, workers, communities, and vulnerable groups are protected and involved when it comes to climate action. More importantly, an institution will be established to turn principle into practice.This breakthrough came not from governments, but from a dedicated push by civil society organizations, unions, youth, and feminist groups, as well as the loud calls of Indigenous movements in Brazil. Where governments failed to achieve progress on other issues, it is thanks to civil society that there is in fact a concrete outcome at this “implementation COP”’.
Friederike Strub, Climate Finance Campaigner, Recourse, said:
“The ‘COP of truth’ is shamelessly perpetuating business as usual. This draft decision puts unaccountable, undemocratic international financial institutions at the centre of a climate finance architecture that has thus far failed to deliver justice and development. The proposed COP30 package won’t result in real climate action if countries are still trapped in debt and extractivism. The move to establish a just transition mechanism is positive and shows the power of civil society organising. But to make the just transition happen we need public finance backing, systemic economic reform, and a clear roadmap to end fossil fuels”.
Clàudia Custodio, Climate justice officer, Debt Observatory in Globalisation (ODG):
“In the face of the climate crisis, only a just transition to a fossil-free world will deliver the outcomes the UNFCCC was created for. Thanks to the tireless effort of civil society, who came to Belem to get a just transition mechanism, we have an outcome to celebrate. However, sufficient finance and a clear roadmap to phase out fossil fuels are still missing, while opacity has reigned during the two weeks of negotiations. A reform of the process which involves kicking lobbyists out is mandatory to ensure the future of multilateralism.”
Angelika Derfler, Climate Justice Campaigner, Südwind:
“The agreed global mechanism for just transition is a ray of hope amid otherwise disappointing results. This means that a specific demand made by countries in the Global South and civil society has been included in the text, putting people and their realities at the heart of a just transition”.
Leïla Réau, Climate Justice Activist, Swiss Youth for Climate (SYFC)
“COP30 didn’t deliver the justice package we urgently need – especially on adaptation finance and mitigation. Developed countries must step up, take responsibility, and help shape outcomes that are truly future-fit.
But there was one big win (BAM!): a concrete step on Just Transition putting youth and frontline communities at the center. When governments fell short, civil society, including youth worldwide, united behind a shared vision and delivered this outcome. We showed what real cooperation and solidarity look like — and countries should follow our lead so a fair and inclusive sustainable future becomes possible”.
Adaptation and Finance
Rachel Simon, International Finance Policy Coordinator at CAN Europe:
“Along with developed countries, the EU held finance outcomes to ransom until the last moment, which has hugely damaged its credibility and relationships with climate vulnerable countries. The new at least tripling of adaptation finance target may sound significant, but it’s riddled with weaknesses. As the International Court of Justice’s recent Advisory Opinion sets out, finance provision to support developing countries to achieve Paris Agreement goals is a legal obligation for developed countries. The EU needs to set out a path forward to dramatically scale up adaptation finance – so sorely needed by countries in the Global South and to support global stability – focusing on grants, access and contributions to the UNFCCC climate funds.”
Nicolas Bormann, Climate policy officer at CNCD-11.11.11 (Belgium):
“Scarce are those who pass the exam without having done their homework before. The EU sits in this exact position having failed to honor the Paris agreement – because they came to COP30 unwilling to deliver qualitative finance again. Through massive cutbacks in official development aid instead of unlocking new sources of public finance, member states continuously shy away from their obligations on the international stage. Transitioning away from fossil fuels is of the utmost importance and it needs to be fair, inclusive and funded – and cannot be traded off against adaptation in the global south”.
Hamdi Benslama, EU Advocacy Adviser, ActionAid International:
“COP30 was sold as the COP of truth and implementation – the EU helped turn it into posturing and a blame game. The EU talked about phasing out fossil fuels while it should already be leading with a clear phase-out pathway; it talked about ambition while its own pledge doesn’t match its fair share; and it dodged hard questions on support, giving no clear signal on how last year’s finance deal will be implemented, particularly for the most vulnerable. COP after COP, this widening gap between words and action is eroding the EU’s climate credibility, weakening the Paris Agreement it claims to defend, and handing easy excuses to those who never wanted real climate action in the first place.”
Salomé Lehtman, Advocacy Advisor at Mercy Corps and the Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance:
“Ten years after Paris, COP30 should have delivered a justice package for communities suffering from the climate crisis. Instead, we got a hollow adaptation finance ‘commitment’ with no obligations for developed countries, no baseline, and delivery kicked to 2035. The European Union, alongside other rich countries, refused to put any money on the table, despite clear duties under the Paris agreement. This is a failure of climate justice. The outcome on adaptation finance is weak, and people’s lives are on the line. It is time governments are held accountable and deliver sufficient and quality adaptation finance, not more empty promises because communities cannot adapt to inaction.”
Barbara Rosen Jacobson, Senior Advocacy Advisor, Mercy Corps and the Zurich Climate Resilience Alliance:
“This year, we needed a strong and ambitious outcome on adaptation. This COP offered a critical chance to elevate adaptation for communities already facing escalating climate impacts. Unfortunately, the result falls short. While the outcome includes a commitment to triple adaptation finance, it lacks a defined baseline, does not clarify who will pay, and delays delivery to 2035; far too late for those on the frontlines. Still, throughout this COP, it became crystal clear that more and better-quality adaptation finance is needed, even if the outcome fails to reflect it. We must build on this and continue pressing governments for real, urgent action.”
Marlene Achoki, Global Climate Justice Policy and Advocacy Lead, CARE International
“This outcome is a failure — and failure to act is negligence. Communities are already living the climate crisis, and millions are paying the price. Adaptation is essential to protect lives and safeguard economies, yet at a COP30 billed as the ‘COP of Truth,’ outcomes fall far short. There is no clarity on how much money is channeled to adaptation, where it will come from, its quality, or how progress will be measured. Without adequate, public, grant-based finance and ambition, climate change will keep multiplying poverty and deepening inequality, especially for women and girls fighting daily for safety and dignity.”
Sinéad Loughran, Climate Justice Policy & Advocacy Advisor, Trócaire:
“COP30’s outcome fails to even acknowledge the stark and devastating neglect of rich, historically-high polluting states to deliver on their loss and damage finance obligations. The Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage remains critically underfunded, resulting in a denial of basic human rights. Communities are facing droughts, floods and other extreme weather events, causing loss of homes, lives and livelihoods, and are owed remedy for this harm. As long as big polluters, states and corporations alike, fail to deliver adequate climate action including a fair and funded fossil fuel phase out, communities will continue to experience escalating losses and damages.”
NDCs and Ambition
Petter Lydén, Head of International Climate Policy, Germanwatch:
“A large part of COP30 was about the fundamental cause of climate change, and how to remove it. The final weak response to the gap in necessary emissions reductions commitments is countered by the loud call from more than 80 countries across continents to transition away from fossil fuels. This initiative will be taken forward in the year to come and the EU needs to be onboard and support.”
David Knecht, Fastenaktion Switzerland:
“Climate action must be people centered. It is good to see that COP30 brought us a step closer to a just transition mechanism. We have to celebrate this! At the same time, countries were unable to address the glaring gap in ambition and implementation of the Paris Agreement. COP30 does not deliver a plan on how countries will concretely work towards more climate action, socially just and funded climate action. This is a lost opportunity. We need the COP30 and COP31 Presidencies to focus”.
Kaysie Brown, Associate Director, Climate Diplomacy & Geopolitics, E3G:
“A deal was always going to be hard-fought, and the outcome shows that Parties were not consistently resolute in pursuing the level of collective ambition required, or united in their support for some critical elements. The work is far from over, and Brazil has a considerable amount to do in the days ahead to assure Parties on next steps and processes. Looking ahead, the question remains: whether there is political will to match what is happening in the real economy. And there are important foundations coming out of this COP to build on and deepen – elements that can be translated into tangible acceleration of real-world progress in cutting emissions, phasing out fossil fuels, strengthening adaptation, protecting nature, and matching needs with resources.”
Fossil Fuel Phase-Out
Rachel Simon, International finance Policy Coordinator at CAN Europe:
“While global action on fossil fuel subsidy phaseout would have a huge impact on the energy transition, it was shockingly omitted at COP30 representing a backwards step on previous years. The EU could have brought more countries on board by focusing on equity and just transitions and by getting its own house in order, as it has committed to phasing out fossil fuel subsidies by 2025 numerous times. Swift progress is now needed at home on the forthcoming EU fossil fuel subsidy phaseout framework, starting with tackling the billions poured into industry.”
Matilde Angeltveit, Senior Climate Policy Adviser at Norwegian Church Aid:
“This agreement fails to respond to the severity of the climate crisis. Climate-vulnerable people deserved a fast, fair, and fully funded phase-out of fossil fuels, paired with a major scaling-up of climate finance to the Global South. This COP did not deliver that. In Norwegian Church Aid we have worked with climate adaptation for many decades, and we know that the solutions exist. But the Global North is not stepping up to the challenge, and recognizing their historical responsibility to increase support. This needs to change, starting with national policies to increase ambition on a globally just transition.”
Susann Scherbarth, Head of Climate Justice, Friends of the Earth Germany:
“The end of COP30 in Belém feels like a ship sailing into a storm and throwing away its compass. No mention of the long-discussed roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels and no progress toward a fair, fully financed phase-out—a bitterly disappointing result. And yet there was finally momentum again to make the phase-out of fossil fuels a reality. Now it’s a clear free pass for the fossil fuel industry and a hard blow for those who suffer most from the climate crisis and a goodbye to the 1.5 pathway. Rich countries such as Germany or the EU must not continue to shirk their responsibilities at the expense of poorer ones.”
Alexandra Azevedo, Head of National Board of Directors, Quercus:
“The world hopes for a fair and fast phase-out of fossil fuels, shown by science to provide the best economic gains while also protecting our lives and planet. Yet, growing numbers of fossil-fuel lobbyists are working from within to slow this progress and developing countries have taken on heavy debt to support global climate efforts without enough help from the richest economies. Still, civil society’s presence at COP continues to rise and this year’s decision demonstrates that by having included the strongest language yet on human rights, labour, gender, youth, education, ecosystems, and biodiversity.
Colombia and the UN had key roles in presenting and supporting respectively the urgent need for a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels and to tackle climate misinformation. We entered with giant steps and left with baby ones but progress remains. Next time we shall make longer strides.”
Marc Weissgerber, Executive Director, E3G Berlin (Geschäftsführer):
“The EU has made a significant contribution to proving that multilateralism and climate cooperation work even in a very difficult geopolitical environment – and that large parts of the world are ready to move to implementation. The EU showcased its agency to strengthen ambition, building on its role as middle-ground convener while adapting to geopolitical realities. It also showcased flexibility regarding the tripling of adaptation finance and on so-called unilateral measures. The EU can build on its actions at COP30, engaging further and constructively with partners in EMDES, using real economy opportunities and building coalitions.”
Erica Martinelli, COP30 Coordinator, Generation Climate Europe (GCE):
“COP30 was presented as the COP of implementation, yet its outcome falls short of 1.5°C science and states’ legal obligations under the ICJ’s Advisory Opinion. It advanced justice by calling for a just transition mechanism grounded in human rights, but it failed to deliver a time-bound fossil fuel phase-out roadmap and increased grant-based public finance. As this COP showed, ambition is sidelined when fossil fuel lobbyists outnumber vulnerable communities. With tipping points approaching and lives at risk, we demand greater ambition, real finance, and a time-bound fossil fuel phase-out to keep 1.5°C alive.”
Federica Dossi, Global Carbon Market Expert, Carbon Market Watch:
“COP30 has demonstrated that the spectre of inadequate carbon crediting rules and blurred carbon market deals will continue to haunt climate targets for years to come. We call on countries not to buy carbon credits to reach their climate goals. EU policymakers, especially, must take note.
The adopted decisions may add marginal improvements to the overall Article 6.2 rulebook, but such increments do little to change the rather worrying course that Article 6 seems to be on”.
Isa Mulder, Global Carbon Market Expert, Carbon Market Watch
“While the old CDM framework is now put to rest, it’s dire that credits from the Kyoto mechanisms have been given yet another lifeline. The absurd message coming from governments seems to be ‘the CDM is dead, long live the CDM!’
Governments averted disaster by fending off numerous financial interests that sought to weaken carbon market rules in Article 6.4. At the same time, they leave Belém with a lot of unfinished business if this carbon crediting mechanism is to fulfill an exemplary function for carbon markets globally.”
ENDS
For more information and media requests:
Tomas Spragg Nilsson, Senior Communications Coordinator (in Belém)
tomas.spraggnilsson@caneurope.org // +46 707 65 63 92
