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‘Decisive battle’: Guterres calls for youth power in fight to phase out fossil fuels

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On Tuesday in Belém, ministers from Colombia, Germany, Kenya, the Marshall Islands, Sierra Leone, the United Kingdom and several other countries, voiced strong support for Brazil’s proposal to elevate the issue in this year’s round of UN climate negotiations.

The coalition called on negotiators to reinforce language around the fossil fuel transition in the draft text, slated for approval on Wednesday. Their aim: to accelerate action and keep global warming within 1.5°C.

Then a hush fell. The ministers listened as COP30 Youth Champion Marcele Oliveira stepped forward, carrying the urgency of an entire generation.

“Fossil fuels are destroying dreams,” she warned, calling the shift away from them “the most important climate justice mobilization of this generation.”

COP30 Youth Climate Champion, Marcele Oliveira, speaks at the UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Belém, Brazil.

Protecting the future

Speaking with UN News, Ms. Oliveira stressed that children and young people must be at the heart of every COP30 discussion.

“We had a decision from the International Court of Justice stating that countries’ inaction on climate change constitutes an environmental crime. Therefore, we need to pressure countries to make better climate decisions, and this is also a priority,” she told us.

“Of course, we need to move away from fossil fuels, invest in forest protection, and protect those who protect them. And of course, for young people, recognition of collective action at the local level, led by young people, is very important.”

Participants during UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s Youth Roundtable at COP30 in Belém, Brazil.

Guterres: A ‘decisive battle’

Later in the day, UN Secretary-General António Guterres met with youth delegates and offered an apology – one heavy with recognition. Past generations, he said, failed to contain the climate crisis. Scientific projections confirm temperatures will surpass the 1.5°C threshold.

Now, he urged young people to stand with him in what he called the “decisive battle” to ensure that this overshoot is as short as possible.

The transition from fossil fuels to renewables, he emphasized, is essential, and requires confronting powerful lobby groups that “put profits above the well-being of the international community and the planet.” Youth pressure, he said, is indispensable at COP30.

‘We just want to be children!’

Sixteen-year-old João Victor da Silva, from Brazil, told the UN chief: “We don’t want to be activists, we just want to be children and adolescents, but unfortunately adults are not making the right decisions.”

From Aruba, Nigel Maduro shared a painful truth: the beaches where he learned to swim are disappearing. Negotiations, he warned, move slowly – perhaps too slowly for his island nation, which faces soaring temperatures and rising seas.

Youth from several countries echoed the same plea: act now to secure a habitable future.

The Secretary-General agreed that greater youth participation – especially from Indigenous communities – would lead to better outcomes. He acknowledged calls for more direct, less bureaucratic financing for Indigenous peoples and pledged to improve conditions to make that possible.

Children make their voices heard at the UN Climate conference in Belém, Brazil.

‘Protests are a defining feature of COP30’

Indigenous leader Txai Suruí described the youth meeting as one of the most hopeful moments of COP30. But she warned that the Amazon is dangerously close to a tipping point that could push the forest toward desertification.

“The protests are a distinguishing feature of this COP, because [though] some countries may not like them, but Brazil is a democratic country, and the protests also serve to ensure that these leaders actually make decisions in favor of life.”

Ms. Txai noted that corporate lobbying remains larger than all delegations combined – and certainly larger than Indigenous representation – creating an imbalance of voices. Yet she sees growing recognition of Indigenous communities as guardians of nature.  

A ‘just transition’

Meanwhile, for Ms. Oliveira, the transition away from fossil fuels must be just—an approach that “listens to, welcomes, and hears the territories.” Measures such as demarcating Indigenous lands, she said, are essential to ensure this shift does not further harm populations already affected.

UN News is reporting from Belém, bringing you front-row coverage of everything unfolding at COP30. 

Belém COP30 delivers climate finance boost and a pledge to plan fossil fuel transition

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  • Climate disinformation: Commitment to promote information integrity and counter false narratives.

The final decision emphasises solidarity and investment, setting ambitious financial targets while leaving energy transition for later discussion. The burning of fossil fuels emits greenhouse gases that are by far the largest contributors to global warming, making this omission a point of concern for many nations, including negotiators from South America and the EU, as well as civil society groups.

Expectations were high that COP30’s final decision would include explicit reference to phasing out fossil fuels. More than 80 countries backed Brazil’s proposal for a formal ‘roadmap.’

A draft text had included it – until the final hours of talks. The adopted outcome refers only to the ‘UAE Consensus’, the COP28 decision calling for “transitioning away from fossil fuels.”

Before the final plenary, Brazilian scientist Carlos Nobre issued a stark warning: fossil fuel use must fall to zero by 2040 – 2045 at the latest to avoid catastrophic temperature rises of up to 2.5°C by mid-century. That trajectory, he said, would spell the near-total loss of coral reefs, the collapse of the Amazon rainforest and an accelerated melt of the Greenland ice sheet.

A closer look

After two weeks of intense negotiations, the adopted text calls for mobilizing at least $1.3 trillion per year by 2035 for climate action, alongside tripling adaptation finance and operationalizing the loss and damage fund agreed at COP28.  

It also launches two major initiatives – the Global Implementation Accelerator and the Belém Mission to 1.5°C – to help countries deliver on their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), or national climate action plans, and adaptation plans.

For the first time, the decision acknowledges the need to tackle climate disinformation, pledging to promote information integrity and counter narratives that undermine science-based action.  

Last week, Brazil’s President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, opened the summit declaring it would be known as “the COP of truth,” and this landmark decision marks a significant step toward safeguarding public trust in climate policy – even as the absence of fossil fuel transition language underscores the complexity of energy negotiations.

Two new roadmaps

In the closing meeting, COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago acknowledged what was left out of the deal:  

“We know some of you had greater ambitions for some of the issues at hand,” he said, adding, “I know the youth civil society will demand us to do more to fight climate change. I want to reaffirm that I will try not to disappoint you during my presidency.”  

Reflecting on President Lula’s call at the opening of COP30 for ambition, Mr. do Lago announced plans to create two roadmaps: one to halt and reverse deforestation; and another to transition away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner, mobilizing resources for these purposes in a “just and planned manner.”

COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago (centre) confers with his team at the closing of the UN Climate Conference.

The road to consensus

The road to consensus at the latest Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), as the annual COPs are formally known, was anything but smooth.  

Late last week, Indigenous groups staged blockades demanding stronger protections for the Amazon, and late Thursday afternoon, a fire at the conference venue disrupted talks during a critical phase. 

Negotiators worked through the night on Friday – to bridge gaps on finance and ambition, with Brazil’s presidency steering discussions toward a politically workable outcome focused on support and implementation of agreements from past COPs.

‘Multilateralism is alive’

From the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, UN Secretary-General António Guterres sent a clear message to COP30: At the gateway of the Amazon, Parties reached an agreement that shows nations can still unite to confront challenges no country can solve alone.  

The UN chief said that COP30 delivered progress, such as the launch of the Global Implementation Accelerator to close ambition gaps and reaffirmed the UAE Consensus, including a just, orderly and equitable transition away from fossil fuels.

“But COPs are consensus-based – and in a period of geopolitical divides, consensus is ever harder to reach. I cannot pretend that COP30 has delivered everything that is needed.” Overshoot of 1.5°C is a stark warning: deep, rapid emission cuts and massive climate finance are essential. “COP30 is over, but the work is not,” he said.  

Mr. Guterres vowed to keep pushing for higher ambition and solidarity, urging all who marched, negotiated and mobilized: “Do not give up. History – and the United Nations – are on your side.

Holding the line at 1.5 in ‘turbulent geopolitical waters’

UN climate chief Simon Stiell pointed to a series of major gains as COP30 closed in Belém: new strategies to accelerate Paris Agreement implementation, a push to triple adaptation finance, and commitments toward a just energy transition.

And despite what he called “turbulent geopolitical waters” – marked by polarization and climate denial – 194 nations stood together, “keeping humanity in the fight for a livable planet, determined to hold the line at 1.5°C.”

At the heart of this momentum is COP30’s flagship outcome: the Mutirão text, a sweeping deal that bundles four contentious negotiation tracks – from mitigation to finance and trade barriers – into a single, consensus-based agreement. Seventeen additional decisions were adopted alongside it.

The final document declares that the global shift toward low-emissions and climate-resilient development is “irreversible and the trend of the future.” It reaffirms that the Paris Agreement is working – and must “go further and faster” – strengthening the role of multilateral climate cooperation.

The text also recognizes the economic and social benefits of climate action, from growth and job creation to improved energy access, security and public health. Mr. Stiell pointed to a decisive trend: investments in renewable energy now outpace fossil fuels two to one – “a political and market signal that cannot be ignored,” he said.

A robust action agenda beyond negotiations

The Brazilian Presidency underscored that COP30’s success extends beyond negotiated agreements, highlighting a wave of voluntary commitments under the Action Agenda.

Among them:

  • Tropical Forests Forever Fund: Raised $5.5 billion and now includes 53 participating countries; at least 20 per cent of resources go directly to Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
  • Belém Health Action Plan: The first global initiative targeting climate-related health threats, launched with $300 million from 35 philanthropic organizations.
  • UNEZA Alliance: Public utility companies pledged $66 billion annually for renewable energy and $82 billion for transmission and storage.
  • Cities, regions and companies: A coalition spanning 25,000 buildings reported cutting over 850,000 tons of CO₂ in 2024.

Climate justice at the forefront

Countries also agreed to develop a just transition mechanism, enhancing cooperation, technical support and capacity-building.

UN’s Guterres declares fossil fuel era fading; presses nations for new climate plans before COP30 summit

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In a special address at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Guterres cited surging clean energy investment and plunging solar and wind costs that now outcompete fossil fuels.

“The energy transition is unstoppable, but the transition is not yet fast enough or fair enough,” he said.

The speech, A Moment of Opportunity: Supercharging the Clean Energy Age – a follow‑up to last year’s Moment of Truth – was delivered alongside a new UN technical report drawing on global energy and finance bodies.

“Just follow the money,” Mr. Guterres said, noting that $2 trillion flowed into clean energy last year, $800 billion more than fossil fuels and up almost 70 per cent in a decade.

Key points from the address

  • Point of no return – The world has irreversibly shifted towards renewables, with fossil fuels entering their decline
  • Clean energy surge – $2 trillion invested in clean energy last year, $800 billion more than fossil fuels
  • Cost revolution – Solar now 41 per cent cheaper and offshore wind 53 per cent cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives.
  • Global challenge – Calls on G20 nations to align new national climate plans with the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement
  • Energy security – Renewables ensure “real energy sovereignty”
  • Six opportunity areas – Climate plan ambition, modern grids, sustainable demand, just transition, trade reform, and finance for emerging markets.

A shift in possibility

He noted new data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) showing solar, once four times costlier, is now 41 per cent cheaper than fossil fuels.

Similarly, offshore wind is 53 per cent cheaper, with more than 90 per cent of new renewables worldwide beating the cheapest new fossil alternative.

“This is not just a shift in power. It is a shift in possibility,” he said.

Renewables nearly match fossil fuels in global installed power capacity, and “almost all the new power capacity built” last year came from renewables, he said, noting that every continent added more clean power than fossil fuels.

Clean energy is unstoppable

Mr. Guterres underscored that a clean energy future “is no longer a promise, it is a fact”. No government, no industry and no special interest can stop it.

“Of course, the fossil fuel lobby will try, and we know the lengths to which they will go. But, I have never been more confident that they will fail because we have passed the point of no return.”

He urged countries to lock ambition into the next round of national climate plans, or NDCs, due within months. Mr. Guterres called on the G20 countries, which are responsible for 80 per cent of emissions, to submit new plans aligned with the 1.5°C limit and present them at a high‑level event in September.

Targets, he added, must “double energy efficiency and triple renewables capacity by 2030” while accelerating “the transition away from fossil fuels”.

Real energy sovereignty

The Secretary-General also highlighted the geopolitical risks of fossil fuel dependence.

“The greatest threat to energy security today is fossil fuels,” he said, citing price shocks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“There are no price spikes for sunlight, no embargoes on wind. Renewables mean real energy security, real energy sovereignty and real freedom from fossil-fuel volatility.”

Six opportunity areas

Mr. Guterres mapped six “opportunity areas” to speed the transition: ambitious NDCs, modern grids and storage, meeting soaring demand sustainably, a just transition for workers and communities, trade reforms to broaden clean‑tech supply chains, and mobilising finance to emerging markets.

Financing, however, is the choke point. Africa, home to 60 per cent of the world’s best solar resources, received just 2 per cent of global clean energy investment last year, he said.

Only one in five clean energy dollars over the past decade went to emerging and developing economies outside China. Flows must rise more than five-fold by 2030 to keep the 1.5-degree limit alive and deliver universal access.

Mr. Guterres urged reform of global finance, stronger multilateral development banks and debt relief, including debt‑for‑climate swaps.

“The fossil fuel age is flailing and failing. We are in the dawn of a new energy era,” he said in closing.

“That world is within reach, but it won’t happen on its own. Not fast enough. Not fair enough. It is up to us. This is our moment of opportunity.”

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