COP30 in Belém took place at a moment when the world urgently needs clarity, courage and action on climate change. At a key juncture celebrating 10 years since the Paris Agreement, the summit delivered headline outcomes: a call to triple adaptation finance, a critical step toward closing the global adaptation gap and approval of a just transition mechanism to strengthen international cooperation and support developing nations through the shift to renewable energy. 

António Guterres emphasized that this is “not a symbolic deal — none of this can happen without funding that is predictable, accessible, and guaranteed.” Set in the heart of the Amazon, the talks highlighted the deep links between forests, coasts and climate, while exposing the widening divide between nations advocating for a liveable future and those defending short-term fossil fuel interests.

Progress and Momentum
Despite the shortcomings in the final outcome, COP 30 did generate some meaningful progress. Formally, Parties agreed to:

• A Just Transition Mechanism
• A call to triple adaptation finance by 2035
• A Global Goal on Adaptation package with 59 indicators
• The Tropical Forest Forever Facility hosted by the World Bank mobilising USD 9 billion
• A suite of technical decisions on finance, loss & damage, Article 6, gender and agriculture

Outside the negotiated text, the Brazilian Presidency also announced two new roadmap processes it intends to lead:

• A pathway for transitioning to a fossil fuel free economy in a just, orderly and equitable manner 
• A Forest and Climate roadmap aimed at halting and reversing deforestation

Countries expanded efforts to integrate climate science into actionable solutions, including the launch of the Ocean Breakthroughs tracker to monitor global resilience initiatives through 2030. Momentum also grew around the High Seas Treaty (BBNJ), while Brazil and France’s Ocean Task Force brought 17 additional nations into the push for Blue NDCs, encouraging Parties to embed ocean-based measures into national climate strategies.

The message was clear: progress is possible when ambition meets cooperation  – but the overall COP30 text: A Global Mutirão: Uniting humanity in a global mobilization against climate change, still falls far short of what is needed. 

Mutirão Text: Ambition Without Teeth

The central “mutirão” text, adopted in the final plenary of COP30, calls for efforts to at least triple adaptation finance to an estimated $120 billion annually, as part of the $300 billion goal agreed in Baku in 2024. While a step forward, the target date was pushed back from the 2030 deadline originally requested by developing countries to 2035 and the text provides no baseline year or clear accountability mechanism, raising serious concerns from civil society and vulnerable nations about who will deliver the funding.

Procedurally, the adoption was rushed. Points of order from Colombia, Panama, and Uruguay, particularly regarding the lack of language on fossil fuel transition and the vagueness of finance commitments, were overlooked. The text contains no fossil-fuel roadmap, no reinstatement of prior commitments on energy transition, and nature, including the ocean, is mentioned only in the preamble. Voluntary accelerators and postponed work programmes signal that much of the real work has been deferred to COP31, leaving frontline communities exposed to ongoing climate risks. In response to the failure to secure fossil fuel phase out language in the COP30 decision, Colombia and the Netherlands announced they will co host the First International Conference for the Phase Out of Fossil Fuels on 28–29 April 2026 in Santa Marta, Colombia, a major coal export port, with a second meeting to follow led by Pacific states.

Frontline Mobilization, Rights, and the Push for a Just Transition
Thousands of Indigenous and coastal community members participated in COP30, often with limited formal access. Demonstrations like the Great People’s March in Belém, around 40,000 strong, and 200 boats sailing in the COP30 Amazonia flotilla, showed that frontline voices are demanding real influence, not symbolic inclusion.

Pressure helped secure one of the summit’s clearest gains: the Just Transition mechanism, widely called the Belém Action Mechanism (BAM). It contains the most comprehensive language ever agreed at a COP on rights and inclusion, spanning human rights, labour rights, the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendants, as well as gender equality, women’s empowerment, education and youth.

It also opens the door to support for Just Transition pathways, referencing additional grant-based finance and acknowledging the barriers countries face. While an important milestone, it is only a first step. Ensuring BAM becomes operational and effective will require continued pressure from the same movements that fought to secure it.

COP 30 President André Corrêa do Lago thanked civil society for their important role in the COP 30 process, highlighting that community voices aren’t a nuisance or an afterthought. 

“Thank you for pointing us in the right direction and for always asking for more. You need to ask for more. The world expects you to ask for more and so do I. So please remind me if I am not doing what I should be doing in these next seven months” – Andre Corrêa.

Ocean Leadership Emerges as a Bright Spot

Against this challenging backdrop, ocean leadership stood out as one of the most forward moving parts of COP 30. Initiatives such as the creation of the Ocean Task Force, Brazil’s commitment to the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy and the broader uptake of Blue NDCs illustrate concrete steps toward embedding ocean priorities within national climate strategies. Practical tools like the Ocean Breakthroughs tracker now provide mechanisms to monitor ocean-based climate action, bringing much-needed transparency and accountability. Platforms such as the Blue Mutirão have surfaced 69 national and international solutions with over 60% led by women, demonstrating the value of coordinated, collaborative efforts in advancing ocean agendas. 

Building on this, COP30 also delivered concrete ocean action under a regenerative blue economy, with the One Ocean Partnership aiming to mobilise USD 20 billion, restore 20 million hectares of blue ecosystems and create 20 million blue jobs. This is backed by ecosystem breakthroughs, including a Mangrove Catalytic Facility (towards a USD 4 billion goal), a new Saltmarsh Breakthrough to restore 500,000 hectares by 2030 and the Brazilian Coral Reef Coalition to help secure 125,000 km² of reefs. 

Despite these steps, ocean-climate issues struggled to secure a strong position in the official COP30 outcomes. The text fails to meaningfully reference the ocean, even as acidification and unprecedented warming rapidly undermine its ability to provide the ecosystem services that have sustained life since the industrial revolution. These cascading changes threaten the global climate system and the communities that depend on the ocean for survival. A new short film by The OA Alliance and LUMA Storytelling highlights some of these frontline stories, showing the impacts on Indigenous communities, government leaders, scientists and the seafood industry worldwide. All of this underscores why the Government of Fiji is calling for the ocean to have its own dedicated agenda item.

Looking Ahead

COP30 also set the stage for COP31, which will be hosted by Türkiye in 2026 after a diplomatic compromise with Australia who will preside over the pre-Cop31 meetings throughout the year ahead of the Conference. While Türkiye frames its hosting around inclusiveness and climate finance, questions remain about its climate ambition and fossil fuel reliance. Announcements were also made that COP32 (2027) will be hosted by Ethiopia, marking the first time the Conference of the Parties will be held in a Least Developed Country (LDC). This represents a significant opportunity to highlight the needs and priorities of the most vulnerable nations. For civil society and frontline communities, these are critical opportunities to push for real action, particularly on fossil fuel phase-out, finance and ocean integration.

Cop 30 demonstrated both the potential for ocean leadership and the persistent reluctance among some Parties to confront the root causes of the climate crisis. To close the gap ahead of COP31, governments must:

• Establish a clear and equitable process to phase out fossil fuels
• Fully integrate ocean-based solutions into national climate plans (Blue NDCs)
• Provide accessible and predictable finance for adaptation and ocean dependent communities
• Embed justice, rights, community leadership at the core of decision-making
• Convert voluntary initiatives into accountable time bound commitments

The ocean is one of our strangest allies in confronting the climate crisis. Turning that potential into meaningful action now depends on political will and the strength of global collaboration with justice, communities, science and knowledge at its centre.