Brazil’s Cop 30 Climate Agenda Faces Criticism Over Silence on Fossil Fuel Phase-Out

Ibama

Activists praise climate finance ambition but question Brazil’s commitment as oil exploration persists.

Brazil’s ambitions to make UN Cop 30 a landmark event for climate action received mixed reactions this week after summit president Andre Correa do Lago released a letter outlining the summit’s goals. While the letter emphasizes a dramatic increase in climate financing—from $300 billion to $1.3 trillion per year by 2035, critics argue it fails to address fossil fuels, the leading driver of global warming.

Activists Applaud Climate Finance Push, Slam Fossil Fuel Omission

Climate scientist Karin Bruning, affiliated with the University of Heidelberg and MIT, welcomed the focus on cooperation but warned that “Brazil must pull its own weight.” She criticized the government’s ongoing support for fossil fuel exploration, especially in Brazil’s equatorial margin, a sensitive region near a freshwater barrier reef.

Bruning noted that Brazil, rich in renewable energy, should avoid returning to “past solutions” such as oil drilling. The Foz do Amazonas basin, holding an estimated 10 billion barrels of crude, has been at the center of controversy. State-run Petrobras has repeatedly sought to explore the area but faced consistent licensing blocks from Ibama, Brazil’s environmental agency.

Think Tanks Raise Red Flags Over Fossil Fuel Silence

While Brazil’s Observatorio do Clima praised the letter for giving Paris Agreement negotiations to credible experts, it criticized the lack of a clear fossil fuel phase-out strategy. The organization warned that ignoring “the elephant in the room” undercuts Brazil’s global credibility.

Think tank E3G’s Kaysie Brown acknowledged that the letter does recognize the urgency of climate action, especially regarding funding for developing countries. However, Brazil’s resistance to align fully with the first global stocktake (GST) and its implementation roadmap, as agreed at Cop 29 in Baku, leaves open questions about true commitment.

As Cop 30 nears, pressure will grow on Brazil to clarify its stance on fossil fuels and prove that its climate diplomacy matches its domestic policy direction.