COP30: ”A disappointment”

The COP30 Climate Change Conference in Brazil is over, and in many quarters there is considerable disappointment with the results. In the final stages, the issue of phasing out fossil fuels was omitted, despite demands from many countries. Below, IVL climate experts Kenneth Möllersten and Lars Zetterberg comment on the outcome.

This year's COP conference was held in Belém, Brazil, near the Amazon. Despite the symbolism of this location, the countries failed to agree on a global plan to stop deforestation. Nor did the countries manage to reach a concrete plan for phasing out fossil fuels. Furthermore, the plan for financing climate change adaptation in poor countries only resulted in vague formulations. After two weeks, the negotiations ended in what several delegates described as a compromise package.

Unfortunately, the results must be deemed inadequate, as the agreement lacks a concrete roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels. The measures are deferred to the future. Funding for climate adaptation will be tripled, which is positive, but not until 2035. That is too late to meet the requirements, says IVL researcher Kenneth Möllersten.

IVL's experts consider the previously debated issues of financing climate change and phasing out fossil fuels to be particularly urgent.

Financing for developing countries, and whether and how fossil fuels should be phased out are mentioned only vaguely in the texts, if at all. Financing is increasing, but the time frame is insufficient. When it comes to the provisions on fossil fuels, developments have moved in the wrong direction. The language was clearer in the texts from recent years' COPs, says Kenneth Möllersten.

IVL's experts agree that the results of COP30 underline the need for Sweden and the EU to take the lead with clear and long-term policies.

It's disappointing that the countries of the world cannot agree. A few countries are now in control, and this will probably not change as long as we are dependent on their oil. We need to transition, and it's important that Sweden and the EU don't lose momentum, says Kenneth Möllersten.

The EU has previously been criticized for its 2040 target, which is an important milestone on the road to net-zero emissions by 2050 and which means that the EU must reduce its territorial emissions by 85 percent by 2040 – compared to 1990. Critics have said that the 2040 target is less ambitious, and one critic stated that the EU had to go to COP30 with its tail between its legs. But IVL researcher Lars Zetterberg disagrees.

It's true that the EU Council arrived at a weaker target than what the European Commission proposed, but I think it's important to remember that the EU's 2040 target is one of the most ambitious climate targets. It won't be easy to reduce emissions by 85 percent in 15 years, and by 100 percent by 2050. Now the EU and its member states must go from words to action, and implement the measures we need in order to reach our targets, says Lars Zetterberg.

For more information, contact:
Kenneth Möllersten, kenneth.mollersten@ivl.se, tel. +46(0)10-7886879
Lars Zetterberg, lars.zetterberg@ivl.se, tel. +46(0)10-788 65 57