Reacción a "COP30 ends with a minimal agreement, leaving out any mention of fossil fuels"

The Belém summit has left us with two clear messages.

Firstly, the old leaders are no longer leading and the new ones are not yet in a position to take the reins. Climate negotiations have been led by the European Union and the US over the last few decades, with notable successes when they have pulled in the same direction, as in Kyoto and Paris. The US did not send a delegation to Brazil, and a few days ago the EU announced a red line – the agreement had to expressly mention a path to abandon fossil fuels – which it crossed without hesitation by accepting an agreement with no mention of such a path. On the other hand, in recent months China seemed called upon to fill the leadership vacuum left by the old leaders. Not yet, although its time will come. Although it is no longer really a developing country, it remains aligned with developing countries that have secured a commitment to increase funding for adaptation in the most vulnerable countries. The commitment is modest, but probably more important than the inclusion or exclusion of a reference to fossil fuels with which the EU, the UK and other countries have sought to lead the negotiations.

Second. The time has come to space out the COPs, with one meeting every two years, or two meetings every five years, as Switzerland recently suggested. The loose ends of the Paris Agreement have been tied up and we do not need new declarations; we need to implement the existing agreements. The irrelevance of this COP in the media has been remarkable. The pantomime of last-minute negotiations to save the planet cannot be repeated every year, or it will cease to be credible.