COP30 Agrees on Tripled Climate Finance, Skips Fossil Fuel Plan

United Nations climate negotiators reached a compromise agreement at the COP30 summit in Belém, Brazil, on Saturday after talks extended beyond the scheduled Friday deadline, focusing on increased financial support for vulnerable nations while sidestepping a binding plan to phase out fossil fuels.

The two-week conference, held on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, drew representatives from nearly 200 countries, along with thousands of Indigenous leaders, activists, and civil society members. Brazilian President André Corrêa do Lago, who presided over the talks, announced the deal following more than 12 hours of overnight negotiations. The agreement calls for wealthy nations to at least triple adaptation finance for developing countries by 2035, providing about $120 billion annually to help cope with rising sea levels, heatwaves, droughts, floods, and storms. This marks an earlier timeline than previously discussed, though it lacks specifics on funding sources, such as whether it must come primarily from public budgets rather than private investment.

The pact also launches a voluntary "implementation accelerator" to help countries meet existing emissions reduction pledges and...