All things considered — including the fire that almost took the venue down — COP30 went about as well as it could have. Did the push by European countries to include an explicit new mandate on the “transition away from fossil fuels” make it into the final decision? No. But that was always almost certain to be too tall an order. Any forum where Saudi Arabia and Tuvalu have to agree on the best course of climate action is going to look like a letdown to many observers. But there are a few takeaways that are slightly more encouraging.
For one, the workaround solution that the summit’s Brazilian leadership put together — a new UN “implementation accelerator” and a transition “roadmap” — amount to almost the same thing Europeans demanded, and at the very least will produce some interesting new talking points for oil-producing countries to parry. For another, the…
