Did leaders deliver at COP30? Reflections from the UN Climate Conference

COP30 officially came to a close on Saturday, Nov. 22, after a dramatic last 48 hours that included a closed-door scramble to salvage an agreement, last-minute objections to the negotiating text from several countries, and even a fire inside the venue.

Expectations were high this year since the UN Climate Change Conference was taking place for the first time in the heart of the Amazon rainforest — one of the places most deeply affected by fossil fuel extraction and deforestation. The consequences of extractivism are felt not only across the forest, but also by the Indigenous Peoples who have lived in and protected these lands for thousands of years, including groups who are uncontacted and living in voluntary isolation.

First, the good news: for the first time ever in this venue, fossil fuels were the center of the conversation. More than 80 countries supported a call from Brazil to develop a roadmap for the transition away from fossil fuels, and Colombia and the Netherlands invited everyone to a landmark conference next April focused on exactly this.

Even though major oil-producing countries, in lockstep with over 1,600 industry lobbyists in attendance, blocked language calling for a fossil fuel phase out and an end to deforestation from the final COP30 text, they can’t stop the global momentum that’s building towards the end of the fossil fuel era.

Yes, the actual agreements were far weaker than what’s needed to address the climate crisis – in large part because Global North countries like Canada refused to pay their fair share to help Global South countries adapt to the impacts of climate change and transition away from fossil fuels. And yes, dangerous distractions like bioenergy (including burning trees for electricity) were still being pushed as a sustainable alternative.

And yet, over the course of the conference, the Stand.earth team witnessed what collective power looks like in action, and watched global multilateralism survive to fight another day.

Our digital community alone took more than 20,000 actions to show support for the causes that matter most. That’s something worth holding onto.

Read on to learn more about what happened across some of our campaigns.

Amazonia

This was the Climate COP with the highest Indigenous participation ever recorded – and we are honored to have contributed to this by supporting the attendance of nearly 40 Indigenous delegates from the Amazon, especially women and youth. This milestone was key to advance the recognition of respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights, particularly for those living in voluntary isolation, as a non-negotiable pillar of a just energy transition. It stands as one of the major achievements of this COP. As we move forward, we remain fully committed to securing the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples in all decision-making spaces.

Our team co-hosted side events and press conferences, and actively facilitated dialogue between the Indigenous movement, civil society organizations, and governments, with a focus on the establishing exclusion zones for extractivism. From the Amazon to other regions across the Global South, this agenda is gaining momentum. We will continue pushing for concrete commitments to transition away from fossil fuels and other extractivist activities, and to ensure that Indigenous leadership shapes the path ahead.

Read our COP30 analysis here.

Big Bad Biomass

Alongside our allies from Brazil, Indonesia, Japan, and the UK we spoke to the threat of bioenergy (the burning of trees for electricity) on panels and at an official COP30 press conference. We put our recent investigation into Drax’s sourcing from old growth forests in front of negotiators. At the same time, we chased down negotiators to make sure some of the most harmful statements about forests and bioenergy were removed from official decisions.

We won’t deny that the COP had its fair share of disappointment: we left knowing that the push for bioenergy is going strong, and we still don’t have a credible roadmap to end deforestation and forest degradation. But the connection between protecting forests, defending land rights, and fighting climate change has never been more evident at a climate COP in recent memory.

This COP proved that our global community is more powerful by the day. Together we can turn this unprecedented attention on the threat of bioenergy into meaningful action, and prevent more forests from being churned up for fuel. Forests are a key part of mitigating climate catastrophe: but only when they’re standing, and the people who rely on them have their rights protected. 

Corporate Climate Accountability

While fashion was uncharacteristically out of the spotlight at COP30, Stand made sure to shine a spotlight on the fashion sector’s role in addressing climate change and advancing a just transition. Ahead of COP30, we secured media coverage for our joint response to a UN Fashion Charter communique, calling for policymakers to accelerate a just clean energy transition at COP30. On the ground in Belém we organized a panel with Oxfam, Fashion Revolution, and Threading Change, highlighting the importance of brand financing to meeting climate commitments.

Together, we sent a clear message that for fashion brands to meet their climate commitments and avert the worst climate impacts, we need brands to step up their financing of the energy transition and climate adaptation in their supply chains. This is essential to enabling manufacturers and workers to not only make the transition, but also be part of it.

Canada’s climate leadership

As a Canadian, witnessing Canada’s backwards slide on climate leadership was one of the most heartbreaking parts of COP30 for me. Instead of joining other world leaders in Brazil to inject momentum into the talks, Prime Minister Carney stayed home to pursue aggressive oil and gas expansion – announcing support for a huge methane gas project (Ksi Lisims LNG terminal), while voting through a budget that walked back many of Canada’s most important climate policies.

And on the ground at COP, while Canadian negotiators eventually supported civil society’s calls for a Just Transition mechanism, they refused to commit to pay our fair share to help Global South countries adapt to a warming world. This lack of leadership netted Canada its first “fossil of the day” award at COP in more than a decade.

But ultimately one thing is crystal clear: the vast majority of the world is moving towards a renewable energy future, and if Canada doesn’t get on board, we’re going to get left behind.