EU Criticized for Hindering Progress in COP30 Negotiations

Civil society organizations today criticized the European Union's (EU) actions at COP30, stating that while the bloc speaks of climate leadership, it is obstructing progress in the negotiations.

According to these groups, while countries in the Global South grapple with droughts, floods, and the high costs of the climate crisis, the EU is focused more on protecting its own interests. The criticisms include resistance to increasing funding for vulnerable nations and a lack of clarity on existing commitments.

These groups are calling on the European bloc to adopt a more cooperative stance in the final hours of the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) to enable an agreement that meets the needs of the most affected states.

This Friday, the EU threatened to block the final COP30 agreement by demanding changes to the draft texts published during the day. The released drafts omit any mention of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and coal).

The expectation of creating a roadmap for the phase-out of these energy sources has become one of the central topics of the forum, as these traditional hydrocarbons are the primary cause of global warming.

The content of the texts generated a negative reaction among organizations and also among governments that were working to achieve more ambitious commitments.

Under this tension, the European Commissioner for Climate, Wopke Hoekstra, stated in a closed-door meeting that the new conference text "lacks scientific rigor, lacks a vision for transition, and shows weakness."

"So let me be equally clear," he pointed out. "Under no circumstances will we accept this. And nothing that resembles it, and I say this with great regret, nothing that comes close to what is being considered now."

Arrogantly, he argued that "yes, we still have a few hours. You can count on us to do everything possible to reach an outcome. Not for the European Union, but for all of us," he added.

Last night, more than 30 countries had already expressed their position, pressuring the COP30 presidency by declaring they would not support a final summit text that omitted a roadmap for a global transition to renewable energy.

The delegations sent a joint letter requesting that the issue be kept in the conference's political draft. In the content, countries such as Colombia, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and others state that "they cannot support an outcome that does not include a roadmap for a just, orderly, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels."