Belém, Brazil: The first glimpse of a potential Cop30 outcome emerged on Tuesday with the release of the “mutirão decision” text – a document that unexpectedly revives the debate on transitioning away from fossil fuels.
Though Brazilian hosts insist it is not a formal cover text, the draft marks the strongest signal yet that the summit may confront issues that have been stalled since Cop28.
The draft consolidates the “big four” unresolved themes: climate finance, transparency, trade, and the inadequacy of national climate plans (NDCs).
Despite negotiations beginning even before the conference opened last week, diplomats remain divided. It is reflected in the text’s sprawling menu of options rather than firm agreements.
Among its most contentious elements is language referencing a “transition away from fossil fuels”, appearing in two separate proposal tracks. This follows the historic Cop28 agreement to shift from fossil fuels – a discussion effectively blocked at Cop29 in Baku and largely relegated to the sidelines in Belém until now.
The document also revives accelerated climate ambition. One proposal calls for annual reviews of national climate plans to keep the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal in reach – echoing the voluntary “ratchet” agreed in Glasgow but largely ignored since. Another invites countries, with a nod to China’s pattern of outperformance, to “aim to overachieve NDC targets.”
Options also include a new “Global Implementation Accelerator” and a “Belém Roadmap to 1.5”, aimed at strengthening cooperation and outlining the pathway to meeting the Paris goals.
Finance, a defining issue for developing nations, appears 26 times in the text. Proposals range from a ministerial roundtable on delivering the promised $1.3 trillion in annual climate finance to the creation of a “Belém Global De-Risking and Project Preparation Facility” to support developing countries in turning climate plans into viable projects.
Speaking at the summit, UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband warned delegates not to fear “forces of denial and delay,” calling them “well funded” but “losing this fight.” He urged countries to go “further and faster” to keep 1.5°C alive, though campaigners criticised the UK and other wealthy nations for urging ambition without adequate financial backing.
Economist Mariana Mazzucato, also in Belém, challenged claims that climate action is incompatible with capitalism. “Inaction is a choice,” she said, urging governments to treat climate risk with the same urgency as military threats and to use public procurement to demand stronger environmental performance from businesses.
Meanwhile, Pope Leo delivered one of the summit’s most powerful moral appeals, warning that ignoring vulnerable communities is “to deny our shared humanity.” He urged leaders to choose cooperation over denial, calling climate leadership an act of service.
Nineteen-year-old Xipaya journalist Wajã Xipai described the summit’s blue zone as a hurried, artificial world far removed from the slow, rhythmic time of the forest – a reminder of the disconnect between climate diplomacy and the ecosystem it seeks to protect.
As talks continue, whether the mutirão draft becomes the backbone of a Cop30 agreement remains uncertain. But its inclusion of a fossil-fuel transition marks a significant shift – one that could still be watered down, yet signals growing global pressure to take the 1.5°C goal seriously.