Special clause for Belem – although this is not an official negotiation clause on this matter UN Climate Summit (COP-30)However, the roadmap for the transition towards the end of fossil fuel use gained momentum at the conference, with Brazil being one of the main actors in advocating for the creation of the roadmap.
This topic appeared in more than one speech by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during the Leaders’ Summit. Although it is an expensive material, so far there is no official proposal from the state on this subject. However, Brazil is in talks with other countries in the negotiating rounds.
“We have started talking, but it is also necessary to respect the negotiation time and everyone’s participation, because this is a collective effort to achieve the energy transition,” said Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mauricio Lirio.
However, he notes that the COP in Belém has already featured the topic.
The agenda, of which Environment and Climate Change Minister Marina Silva is one of its main advocates, gained traction in recent days when representatives from the United Kingdom and Germany said, during a panel discussion with the Brazilian minister, that they supported building the roadmap.
German Deputy Minister Jochen Flasbarth confirmed that he would support “any decision” to establish a road map. The UK’s special climate envoy, Rachel Kate, said she would stand by Marina on the issue.
The Declaration moved the COP and filled with hope members of civil society, who advocated setting a timetable for the transition towards the end of fossil fuel use. In addition to the two countries, a meeting was held on Saturday, the 15th of this month, between the European Commission and the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance, which calls for an end to the use of fossils. The event was attended by Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the UN climate arm, Simon Steele, and Minister Marina Silva.
COP 30 is not expected to discuss this topic, but countries could try to include it in some other discussions, such as just the issue of transition. “In recent days, we have seen more than 60 countries expressing their support in one way or another for designing a road map for the world to move away from fossil fuels,” he said. “Now is the time for this support to be embodied in reports and expressed in the negotiating rooms so that the COP 30 Presidency can deliver in the process.” condition Stella Hirschmann, climate policy specialist at the Climate Observatory.
Last Thursday, the 13th, the Executive President of COP 30, Anna Toney, commented on the topic. “I heard that other countries seem to support the decision on a strategic plan, but this issue is not on the table in the negotiations,” he said, adding that the issue is under discussion on the work agenda.
The work agenda consists of parallel talks taking place at the COP, where countries announce their individual commitments.
At a meeting of heads of state, at the beginning of the month, Brazilian diplomats focused all their efforts on launching the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF), which provides for the return of profits made to pay for forest conservation.
Now, Brazil is working on at least one resolution setting a date for preparing this road map. It is clear to the State that constructing the map itself will be very difficult, but it believes it is possible to set a deadline to start discussions and submit a proposal at the next COPs.
President Lula said in one of his speeches: “The world needs a clear road map to end this dependence on fossil fuels.”
Despite his public rhetoric at the COP, Lula supports opening a new front for oil exploration in the tropical margin, near the mouth of the Amazon River. In October, Petrobras obtained a permit from the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) to search for oil at the site.
End “ineffective” subsidies.
The government envisions that the fund was an important tool to boost confidence between countries, as emerging countries, such as Brazil and Indonesia, also took money out of their pockets, with a contribution of US$1 billion each. The initiative is seen as a way to send a good signal that everyone is willing to cooperate against climate change, even though President Lula has repeatedly called for more funding.
The idea of setting this timetable is Minister Marina Silva’s personal defense of this COP. A few months ago, the head of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change expressed to her interlocutors her desire for Brazil to take leadership on this issue.
During the preparatory meetings for the Conference of the Parties, held in Brasilia, Marina addressed the topic in one of the plenary sessions. On this occasion, the Minister cited the decision of the 28th Conference of the Parties in Dubai, which agreed to the transition towards the end of fossil fuels. Marina also advocated ending “ineffective” subsidies for this energy source.
Despite the intention, the task is not easy and faces resistance mainly from the Arab group that includes major oil producers, such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The Arabs even made a connection to another topic of concern to Brazil: climate adaptation. According to sources following the negotiations, these countries are tending to exploit the impasse over the adaptation issue to bargain for favorable decisions in the field of mitigation, which generally focuses on measures related to fossils.
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