More than 80 countries are calling for a global "roadmap" to end fossil fuels

BarcelonaEighty-two countries are calling for a global roadmap to phase out oil, gas, and coal. Representatives from all these governments have joined forces to lobby at the UN Climate Summit. COP30, which is being held these days in the Brazilian Amazonand have demanded that the final text of the meeting include this commitment. A first draft of the summit's final text, called Mutirão (what does it mean community effort (in Portuguese), which includes a possible commitment to the phase-out of fossil fuels, but is still too open-ended.

In fact, it proposes three different options for this point on fossil fuels, one of which calls on all states to establish "just, orderly, and equitable transition roadmaps, including phasing out their dependence on fossil fuels and halting and reversing deforestation." This would be the most ambitious option currently in the draft, although it leaves it to national decisions and does not call for a roadmap with global figures, as proposed by the countries that signed the petition to eliminate fossil fuels.

The second option in the text, however, is much weaker, and only calls for "sharing successful experiences" in the "transition to low-carbon solutions." And there is yet a third, even worse option, which proposes eliminating this point entirely from the text.

"The best option to reach an agreement [on this point] is to include it in the MutirãoThe reference in the current draft text is weak and presented as a mere option: it must be strengthened and adopted,” stressed Tina Stege, the Marshall Islands’ climate envoy, who has spearheaded the call for this roadmap, at a press conference.

Among the driving countries is also... The final decision of COP28 in Dubai, which two years ago included in its final text a reference to the need to phase out fossil fuels.It was the first time these fuels, responsible for the climate crisis, were directly mentioned in a UN climate negotiations document. The following year, at the summit in Azerbaijan, this reference no longer appeared in the final text, and that commitment has been sidelined. But COP30 could revive it.

Final push for negotiations

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is traveling to Belém this Wednesday to give the final push to the negotiations. The absence of the United States, which has not sent a delegation to COP30 after Donald Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement for the second time, may actually be facilitating the dialogue. But Lula has stated his intention to secure an agreement before the end of the summit (this Friday), which would be practically a miracle considering not only how far apart the current positions are but also the history of all previous COPs, which have always needed one or two days beyond the closing to finalize the agreements. Lula wants to finalize the agreement on fossil fuels and climate finance, another of the most contentious issues, this Wednesday, and leave the rest of the final agreement for approval on Friday. But almost no one believes in that plan. Lula himself, who has joined the initiative to phase out fossil fuels, has promoted new oil exploration in the Amazon, policies that completely contradict his desire to position himself as a leader in the fight against climate change. The Colombian government of Gustavo Petro, however, has formally committed to leaving oil and coal underground, doing so during this COP30 summit. Colombia has become the first country to declare its portion of the Amazon rainforest free of mining and oil extraction.