COP30 in Belém, Brazil, had been announced as the “COP of truth and implementation”. Ten years after the Paris Agreement, the summit was expected to mark a decisive moment for turning climate commitments into concrete action.
After two weeks of intense negotiations, representatives from nearly 200 countries reached an agreement that shows multilateralism remains alive despite a complex geopolitical context. However, the substance of the text remains far from the level of ambition required by science and by a large part of the international community to fight climate change.
This article explains what COP is and reviews the outcomes of the thirtieth edition, held from 10 to 22 November 2025.
What is COP
The Conferences of the Parties (COPs) are the annual meetings of the countries that have joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They bring together almost all nations in the world and represent the main international summit where countries define shared decisions and rules to guide global climate action.
Each country participating in the COP is represented by a delegation made up of ministers, negotiators, diplomats, and technical experts. Alongside national delegations operate accredited observers (NGOs, Indigenous communities, research centres, businesses, trade unions, etc.), who, despite not having a negotiating role, can follow many sessions and intervene in dedicated moments, helping ensure transparency and inclusiveness.
During the COPs, the decision-making process is based on the principle of consensus. There are no majority votes or minimum thresholds: every decision must be approved unanimously.
This mechanism ensures equal legitimacy for all states, regardless of geopolitical weight, but often leads to watered-down compromises when interests clash.
COP30: a symbolic summit ten years after the Paris Agreement
COP30 held strong symbolic value. It coincided with the tenth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, the treaty committing signatories to keep global warming “well below 2°C” and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
In this context, this year’s summit had been presented as the “COP of implementation”, the moment in which the commitments made in 2015 would finally translate into operational steps
Brazil initially promised a COP capable of relaunching global action and addressing unresolved issues such as the gradual phase-out of fossil fuels and the protection of tropical forests. Expectations were therefore high.
However, COP30 highlighted the fragility of climate multilateralism, marked by geopolitical tensions such as the absence of the United States from the negotiations, the assertiveness of fossil-fuel-producing countries, and divisions between industrialised and developing nations. These dynamics made it difficult to reach ambitious compromises and largely explain the gap between initial expectations and the final outcome.
The main decisions of COP30
COP30 concluded on 22 November with the approval of the Global Mutirão Decision, the final text outlining priorities for international climate action in the coming years. Though less ambitious than expected, it includes initiatives designed to support implementation of the Paris Agreement. These include:
- the launch of the Global Implementation Accelerator to speed up delivery of climate commitments;
- tripling of climate adaptation finance to support populations most exposed to climate impacts;
- the creation of the Belém Mechanism for Just Global Transition, a political and technical tool to support countries — especially developing ones — in transitioning to low-emission economies without creating new social or economic inequalities;
- the adoption of new indicators to measure global progress on resilience under the Global Goal on Adaptation; and
- the launch of the Technology Implementation Program (TIP), with a roadmap to strengthen deployment of climate technologies in developing countries.
The unresolved issue of fossil fuels
The most criticised aspect of the Global Mutirão Decision concerns fossil fuels. The text contains no commitment to reduce or phase out oil, gas, or coal, despite scientific consensus on their responsibility for global warming.
During negotiations, more than eighty countries proposed including a roadmap for the gradual phase-out of fossil fuels. This would have been a step forward from COP28 in Dubai, where the need to “transition away from fossil fuels” was recognised for the first time but without timelines or modalities. In Belém, the hope was to finally anchor this commitment in the final document.
However, the proposal was blocked by major hydrocarbon-producing nations. To avoid a collapse of the negotiations, many countries accepted a weaker compromise. The result is an agreement that speaks of accelerating climate action without directly addressing fossil energy sources.
Parallel initiatives to fill the gaps in the agreement
Alongside a final agreement considered insufficiently ambitious, COP30 saw the emergence of parallel initiatives promoted by the Brazilian presidency and a group of countries unwilling to remain passive in the face of negotiating stalemate.
Brazil announced two roadmaps — one on fossil fuel transition and one on combating deforestation — to be developed over the next twelve months through a process grounded in scientific evidence.
Among the initiatives launched in Belém is also the new Tropical Forests Forever Facility, an international fund created by Brazil to financially support countries that protect tropical forests.
Although external to the Global Mutirão Decision, these initiatives show that a growing part of the international community does not intend to resign itself to the slow pace of the multilateral process.
What does COP30 mean for your business?
COP30 confirmed that the path toward achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement remains complex, marked by partial progress, compromises, and initiatives still awaiting implementation. In this context, it is essential for companies to adopt solid sustainability strategies based on reliable data and able to anticipate regulatory and market developments.
Kyklos Carbon supports companies across all sectors in this journey: from ESG impact analysis and sustainability reporting to the definition of targeted sustainability strategies.
Contact us if you want to understand how COP30 will affect your sector or if you need support to develop an effective climate strategy.
COP30: everything you need to know about the final agreement