BELÉM, Brazil, Nov 21 (AFP): More than 30 countries have co-signed a letter opposing Brazil's draft proposal at the UN climate conference because it fails to include a roadmap phasing out fossil fuels, the Colombian delegation told AFP on Thursday.
COP30 was scheduled to end Friday evening, after a dramatic blaze at the venue in Belem brought a premature close to Thursday's proceedings.
The summit's leader, Brazilian diplomat Andre Correa do Lago, was under pressure from the nearly 200 countries gathered in the Amazonian city since last week to forge a text capable of achieving consensus, as required under the summit's rules.
His latest draft, seen Thursday by AFP, made no mention of fossil fuels-despite President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva having championed the idea as a signature initiative since the summit began.
"We cannot support an outcome that does not include a roadmap for implementing a just, orderly, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels," said the letter provided to AFP-with signatories from Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Pacific island nations.
France and Belgium confirmed their signatures.
"We must be honest: in its present form, the proposal does not meet the minimum conditions required for a credible COP outcome," they letter said.
Momentum for phasing out oil, coal, and gas, which are largely responsible for global warming, re-emerged forcefully in Belem at a moment when the issue appeared all but dormant.
But according to a negotiator who wished to remain anonymous, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Russia rejected it outright.
Meanwhile, with UN climate talks nearing a close in Belem, the world body's chief on Thursday urged nations to reach an "ambitious compromise" that keeps alive the goal of limiting long-term planetary warming to the critical 1.5C threshold.
Nearly 200 countries have spent the past two weeks hashing out issues at COP30 -- from a "roadmap" to transition away from fossil fuels proposed by host Brazil, to concerns over weak emissions-reduction plans, finance for developing countries, and trade barriers.
Antonio Guterres-the former Portuguese prime minister who has made climate his signature issue-delivered an urgent message.
"The world is watching Belem," he told reporters during a morning news conference, as nations await a new draft negotiating text before the summit officially closes on Friday evening.
"Communities on the frontlines are watching too-counting flooded homes, failed harvests, lost livelihoods, and asking how much more must we suffer?"
"Please engage in good faith," he urged, to reach an "ambitious compromise," adding that "1.5 degrees must be your only red line."
COP30 comes 10 years after nations agreed in Paris to limit human-caused warming to 1.5C-and at least well below 2C-to avert the worst impacts of climate destabilization.
Evidence now indicates the world will almost certainly overshoot the 1.5C goal, though humanity can still influence how long that overshoot lasts.
Guterres' plea came after Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva flew into the northern city, which sits on the edge of the Amazon, on Wednesday, in a bold bid to seal an early deal on the summit's thorniest issues.
While that effort failed, Lula, who has invested political capital into what he has called his "COP of truth," once more put his "roadmap" to move away from fossil fuels back at the top of the agenda.
The proposal is supported by a coalition of more than 80 countries but opposed by the oil-producing bloc.
Negotiators are also at odds over pressure from the developing world for developed countries to provide more financing to help vulnerable nations adapt to climate change and deploy renewable energy.
The COP29 summit in Baku last year concluded with developed nations agreeing to provide $300 billion a year in climate finance, a figure criticized by developing countries as woefully insufficient.
The EU, where many countries are facing economic headwinds and soaring debt, has led the opposition to demands for more money.
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