Abbey Abramson

  COP30 Missing Fossil Fuel Phase-out The Missing Fossil Fuel Phase-Out: How Oil & Gas Interests Shaped COP30’s Limits The 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) held in Belém, Brazil, had many observers expecting a shift in the global energy paradigm. With increasing clarity that the climate crisis is driven by fossil fuels and growing demands from vulnerable countries, civil society, and a majority of parties pushed for a concrete roadmap to phase out coal, oil, and gas. Instead, COP30 concluded with no binding fossil-fuel phase-out language in its core text, revealing how entrenched oil and gas interests continue to influence international climate diplomacy. This outcome matters deeply — because without addressing the root cause of global warming, mitigation and adaptation initiatives face significant limits. The context: Why a fossil fuel phase-out matters Climate science is clear: unabated fossil-fuel extraction and use remain the most significant single ...

  COP30 Belem Brazil Tripling Adaptation Finance: What the Belém Agreement Means for Vulnerable Countries The conclusion of COP30 in Belém, Brazil marked a turning point in global climate policy: Parties collectively agreed to triple adaptation finance by 2035 , aiming to address the growing gap between climate impacts and the resources available to respond to them. For developing nations, Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Indigenous peoples, and frontline communities, this decision represents both a moral acknowledgment and a practical step toward climate justice. Adaptation—actions that reduce harm from climate impacts—is increasingly essential as extreme weather, sea-level rise, food insecurity, and water scarcity intensify. While mitigation tackles the root causes of climate change, adaptation determines whether communities can survive the consequences already locked in (IPCC, 2022). For decades, however, adaptation funding lagged far behind mitigation, accounting for on...