(Oil price)– The COP30 climate summit is ditching an earlier draft of a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels, according to the latest draft of negotiating texts at the global gathering in Belem, Brazil.
Many countries at COP30 have mobilized and supported a so-called “roadmap” to transition away from fossil fuels. But the latest draft document of the summit has removed reference to transitioning away from fossil fuels entirely, Reuters reports.
While more than 80 countries joined the call for a roadmap to move away from fossil fuels, others have resisted any deal on phasing out of oil, gas, and coal.
The delegates at COP30 are still discussing language for the final communique that will be published and agreed on unanimously by the countries attending the summit, so Friday’s version of the draft may not be final.
Yet, signs point that there won’t be an explicit reference to transitioning away from fossil fuels.
Even the European Union has backed off supporting the roadmap.
As many as 82 countries earlier this week called for a clear roadmap toward the phase-out of fossil fuels—but the European Union, which aims to lead by example in the global push to net zero, was not among these.
Many EU countries backed the 82-nation-strong push to ditch fossil fuels, but the EU-27 did not formally support the initiative as such backing needs the unanimous approval of all 27 member states, Politico reports.
The joint effort to abandon the use of fossil fuels globally was supported by the EU’s biggest economy, Germany, as well as Colombia, the United Kingdom, and Kenya.
The pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” was made two years ago at COP28 in Dubai in 2023 in what was for the first time in decades that the end of fossil fuels was mentioned in a negotiating text. However, the topic did not evolve at the following COP29 in Azerbaijan last year.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
