{"id":35269,"date":"2025-05-09T17:55:37","date_gmt":"2025-05-09T15:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/?p=35269"},"modified":"2025-05-10T20:45:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-10T18:45:43","slug":"cop30-and-the-obstacle-in-the-form-of-fossil-fuels-escaping-from-the-program-cop30-and-the-obstacle-in-the-form-of-fossil-fuels-escaping-from-the-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/2025\/05\/09\/cop30-and-the-obstacle-in-the-form-of-fossil-fuels-escaping-from-the-program-cop30-and-the-obstacle-in-the-form-of-fossil-fuels-escaping-from-the-program\/","title":{"rendered":"COP30 and the Fossil Fuel Obstacle: What's Missing from the Agenda?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Preparations for the COP30 climate conference in Bel\u00e9m are in full swing, but despite the extensive agenda and many discussion points, one key factor in the climate crisis seems to be remains overlooked: fossil fuels<\/strong>Oil, gas and coal are responsible for three quarters of global emissions<\/strong> greenhouse gases, yet they are nowhere to be seen at the center of climate negotiations.<\/p>\n

This lack of attention stands in stark contrast to the outcome of COP28 in Dubai, where a breakthrough moment was reached. Global Stocktake (GST)<\/strong> from COP28 brought a clear call for "departure from fossil fuels in energy systems in an orderly, fair and equitable manner"<\/strong> with urgent action this decade. Even though Dubai was hosted by a petrostate and led by an oil executive, this message nevertheless emerged, underscoring its importance. GST set a new the gold standard<\/strong> for climate action: to put the phasing out of fossil fuels at the centre of the global response to the climate crisis.<\/p>\n

Shortly after this important decision, however, some countries began to express a kind of \u201cbuyer\u2019s remorse.\u201d At the G20 summit in Brazil last year, some countries led a \u201crebellion\u201d against the GST and managed to prevent the leaders\u2019 statement from even confirming the commitment in paragraph 28d. In other forums, such as the energy security negotiations, the United States even pushed for gas and downplayed renewables. COP29 in Baku, on the other hand, failed to make progress on the energy issue due to disagreements over financing.<\/p>\n

Some countries argue that GST is not a \u201cbuffet\u201d from which countries choose what to implement; all its provisions must be respected, including those on financing. However, in the real world, "fossil frenzy"<\/strong> without end. Rich oil-producing nations like Norway, Canada, and Australia, as well as emerging economies like Brazil and the United Arab Emirates, are expanding their production. The United States, like world's top oil producer<\/strong>, are described as a \u201crogue state\u201d led by a climate change denier and are obstructing global climate action.<\/p>\n

The problem is that the decision from Dubai is not self-implementable<\/strong>. It needs to be in progress<\/strong>, which includes defining timetables and a proper definition of what constitutes an \u201corderly, just and equitable\u201d transition. Who will go first, in what timeframes? What are the obstacles and how to overcome them? The world cannot simply commit to a phase-out of fossil fuels and expect every country to voluntarily come up with a plan to curtail its own fossil fuel industry, especially given the record profits of oil companies<\/strong>In order to implement the Dubai text, needs a COP decision<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

To be worthy of its historic significance, COP30 must deliver formal result<\/strong>, which will accelerate the energy transition and the implementation of the first Global Status. Limiting the energy transition to voluntary commitments that are easily forgotten is not enough. COP30 must send a clear political signal<\/strong> and tackle tough decisions. It should strengthen and accelerate commitments to double energy efficiency, triple the capacity of renewable energy sources<\/strong> a clearly move away from fossil fuels<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Brazil, as the host country, is well-placed to lead a dialogue on the protection of biodiversity areas from fossil fuel exploration and to initiate discussions on the timetables for phasing out fossil fuel use, as indicated in its NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution). These negotiations should lead to the establishment of a fossil fuel transition monitoring and\/or the establishment of a quantified objectives<\/strong> to reduce their share in the global energy mix by 2030. However, Brazil she can't go alone<\/strong>; other countries need to get involved, including Europe, whose leadership in this area has wavered. It is necessary to renew the alliance that led to success in Dubai, while listening to the concerns of countries that do not have sufficient fiscal space for the transition.<\/p>\n

Upcoming meetings, like the one in Copenhagen this week and the UN technical talks in Bonn in June, will test the world\u2019s will to address the \u201celephant in the room.\u201d At both meetings, fossil fuels must be part of the conversation. We don\u2019t have another 30 years to waste.<\/p>\n

Overall, while the COP30 agenda may contain many important elements, success in combating the climate crisis depends on whether the conference finally fully and formally begins to address the root cause of the problem \u2013 fossil fuels. Spring<\/strong><\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Preparations for the COP30 climate conference in Bel\u00e9m are in full swing, but despite the extensive agenda and many discussion points, one key factor in the climate crisis seems to be<\/p>","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cop28-cop29-cop30-cop31"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35269","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35269"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35269\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35269"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35269"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.co2news.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35269"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}