COP30 is over, here’s what businesses need to know

The thirtieth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), or COP30, concluded on Saturday 22 November 2025. Held in Belém, Brazil, it was marked by extreme weather conditions, extensive consultations on climate finance, ambition, trade and reporting, and much discussion about a roadmap for transitioning away from fossil fuels which never materialised.

For businesses, there were several outcomes to take note of, including decisions adopted at COP30 and developments beyond the formal agenda.

 

1. Transition talk: Fossil fuel exit and focus on renewables

No consensus on fossil fuel exit roadmap

A major topic at this year’s conference was whether countries would be able to agree on a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels. To do so would have built on the historic decision taken at COP28 in Dubai, which called on Parties to “contribute to…transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly and equitable manner¹”. Despite public support from over 80 countries for such a roadmap, countries failed to reach consensus and there was no inclusion of a roadmap, or any wording regarding fossil fuels, in final decisions.

However, this is not the end of the conversation. At COP30, Colombia and the Netherlands announced that they will co-host an international conference on the phase-out of fossil fuels, taking place in April 2026. This conference will build on the start made at COP30 and engage a wide range of stakeholders, offering a space for progress beyond multilateralism without the restrictions of reaching consensus among countries. Investors and other private sector stakeholders will also have an opportunity to be part of that conversation, which could influence future norms and investor expectations. In addition, 24 countries supported the Belém Declaration on transitioning away from fossil fuels, a political statement launched by Colombia. Supporting countries included Australia, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Finland, Ireland, Mexico, Chile, Kenya and Vanuatu, among others.

The support for a roadmap at COP30, from a broad range of developed and developing countries, was significant, striking and a strong indication of wide commitment to the energy transition.  As initiatives outside the UNFCCC process gather steam, this is a clear signal of growing investment in renewable energy initiatives in a broad range of jurisdictions.

Energy transition minerals

COP30 marked the first time that countries have grappled in negotiations with the implications of extracting minerals for the energy transition. An early draft text on the just transition agenda item included wording recognising "the social and environmental risks associated with scaling up supply chains for clean energy technologies, including risks arising from the extraction and processing of critical minerals".

Ultimately no wording on minerals made it into final decisions, but the proposal nevertheless represents a turning point: it’s no longer feasible to discuss the transition without discussing minerals. Onlookers can expect more focus on minerals on the international stage, and increasing pressure on resource-rich countries to tightly regulate extraction and processing activities.

 

2. Implementation at the domestic level

Under the Paris Agreement, countries are required to submit nationally determined contributions (NDCs) every 5 years, which detail national plans for climate change mitigation and adaptation in line with the Paris Agreement goals. This year countries were due to submit their third NDCs and by the end of the conference 119 countries (covering 74% of global greenhouse gas emissions) had submitted their updated NDCs², with more expected before 2026.

With new climate plans in place, discussions at COP30 focused on domestic implementation. Many countries lamented a lack of ambition, and called for greater implementation of national plans, including a collective commitment to transition away from fossil fuels. While that commitment was not forthcoming, countries decided to launch a new initiative called the ‘Global Implementation Accelerator’, with the objective of keeping the temperature target of 1.5°C within reach. It will be led by the Brazilian presidency who hosted COP30 and the newly minted Turkish-Australian presidency for COP31.

A focus on implementation comes with a range of opportunities for business, especially in the energy and technology sectors which are key to unlocking the transition. This was reflected in the COP30 Action Agenda which uses the convening power of COP to organise events for a wide range of stakeholders including businesses. The final report of the COP30 Action Agenda referred to numerous opportunities for the private sector to enable implementation, including through the expansion of climate-resilient infrastructure and the launch of innovative financial instruments to finance climate action³.

 

3. Climate finance from a wide range of sources

At COP29 last year countries agreed on a new climate finance goal of “at least USD300 billion per year by 2035 for developing country Parties for climate action” and calls for the scaling up of finance flows from private and public sources to “at least USD1.3 trillion per year by 2035⁴”. For both the goal of USD300 billion and the broader target of USD1.3 trillion, the decision refers to private sources of finance. To achieve both of these goals, multilateral institutions and development banks play a significant role in terms of raising and mobilising finance. The role of private finance, including its scope, is likely to be influenced by what these institutions do next.

At COP30, countries agreed to call for tripling adaptation finance by 2035 and, across several workstreams, there were further calls for a combination of public and private sources of finance. For example:

• The ‘Baku to Belém Roadmap to USD1.3 trillion’, a framework for scaling up climate finance jointly prepared by the COP29 and COP30 presidencies, highlighted multiple opportunities for mobilising private finance, including through the development of high integrity carbon markets⁵;
• Although COP30 did not feature major negotiations on carbon markets, the mechanisms under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement remained a focal point for both governments and the private sector given the imminent full operationalisation of this UN-backed mechanism for trading emission reductions and removals. Negotiators agreed not to reopen existing rules and implementation steps will continue in the coming months, with the first credits under the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism expected by late next year;
• The final decision on the just transition recognised the “need for whole-of-economy approaches to just transitions that engage the private sector⁶”;
• The final decision on making finance flows consistent with reducing emissions and climate-resilient development invited private sector stakeholders to participate in an ongoing dialogue concerning climate finance⁷; and
• The Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), launched at the COP30 Leaders’ Summit by the Brazilian COP30 presidency, is a new mechanism aimed at providing long-term and predictable financing for the sustainable management of forests through a combination of public and private finance. Currently pledges amount to USD6.7 million, with a total of USD25 million expected from governments and an additional USD100 million from private financing. This is one of many examples of convergence between climate and biodiversity solutions, with carbon sinks such as forests increasingly recognised as an integral part of the climate solution at the COP forum.

 

4. Breakthrough star: trade and climate change

For several years, developing countries have fought for the inclusion of unliteral trade measures on the formal COP agenda. COP30 was no exception and while there was no formal agenda item on trade, it was one of four divisive issues discussed in extensive consultations led by the Brazilian Presidency, resulting in the first ever reference to trade in a COP cover decision.

The push to cover trade is in response to the EU’s introduction of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). CBAM charges a border tax, in the form of payment through certificates, based on the embedded carbon emissions generated in the production of certain goods imported into the EU. Its objective is to stem “carbon leakage”, whereby industrial production shifts to countries with weaker climate rules. Other countries, including the UK, are planning to follow the EU’s lead. Many developing countries say CBAM is restrictive and undermines multilateral cooperation, particularly the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities under the UNFCCC, which recognises that countries have different duties and abilities to address the negative impacts of climate change. Throughout consultations, the EU maintained that CBAM is not unilateral and questioned whether the COP forum, as opposed to the WTO, was the appropriate place to examine national trade policy.

Despite these attestations, trade found its way into COP30’s Global Mutirão decision, which reaffirmed that measures to combat climate change should not constitute a “disguised restriction on international trade⁸”. The COP also established a dialogue between the parties to the subsidiary bodies of the UNFCCC and the international governing bodies on trade, including the WTO, to consider enhancing cooperation related to the role of trade in combatting climate change.

Outcomes from this new dialogue, together with any further challenges to mechanisms like CBAM, are likely to influence country behaviour when it comes to designing and implementing trade measures which directly or indirectly respond to the climate crisis.

 

5. A step closer to realising the global goal on adaptation

A major focus of COP30 was negotiations on the global goal on adaptation (GGA), in which countries were expected to agree a list of 100 indicators to track progress on adaptation. The proposed list of indicators, which had been worked up by a group of 78 independent experts over two years with input and guidance from countries, included indicators across several thematic areas, including water, health and finance, and cross-cutting considerations such as gender.

The final decision on the GGA however included a shorter list of 59 voluntary indicators, many of which had been modified from the original proposed list. Some countries raised objections to the GGA decision citing the amended list of indicators, which did not appear to have been subject to review by the technical experts. The decision noted that the indicators will require "further refinement" which will happen through a two-year process called the Belém-Addis Vision.

For now, both countries and other stakeholders must continue waiting for a coordinated approach to tracking adaptation progress. It’s not clear whether countries will start to use the shortlist of indicators on a voluntary basis, especially given the controversy around their adoption and the possibility that they will change in the coming years. This lack of cohesion could have a chilling effect on efforts to increase adaptation finance, which is so desperately needed by countries most impacted by the effects of climate change.

DLA’s experience advising on international environmental negotiations

For decades, DLA Piper has helped businesses advance sustainability goals and manage climate-related risks. The firm has advised on key environmental matters across industries and provided pro bono advisory support to governments in United Nations climate and environment negotiations, including under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Convention on Combatting Desertification.

 

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¹UNFCCC, Decision 1/CMA.5 adopted by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, paragraph 28(d) (2023), available at: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cma2023_16a01E.pdf
²Climate Watch, NDC Tracker, available at: https://www.climatewatchdata.org/ndc-tracker
³COP30 President, Climate High Level Champions and the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, ‘Outcomes Report: Global Climate Action Agenda at COP30’ (21 November 2025), available at: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/COP30%20Action%20Agenda_Final%20Report.docx.pdf
⁴UNFCCC, Decision 1/CMA.6 adopted by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement, paragraphs 7 and 8 (2024), available at: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cma2024_17a01E.pdf
⁵COP30 President, COP29 President, ‘Report on the Baku to Belém Roadmap to 1.3T’ (November 2025), available at: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/Relatorio_Roadmap_COP29_COP30_EN_final.pdf
⁶UNFCCC, Draft decision -/CMA.7, ‘United Arab Emirates just transition work programme (21 November 2025), paragraph 12(f), available at: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cma2025_L14_adv.pdf
⁷UNFCCC, Draft decision -/CMA.7, ‘Sharm el-Sheikh dialogue on the scope of Article 2, paragraph 1(c), of the Paris Agreement and its complementarity with Article 9 of the Paris Agreement’ (22 November 2025), paragraph 19, available at: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cma2025_L11adv.pdf
⁸UNFCCC, Draft decision -/CMA.7, ‘ Global Mutirão: Uniting humanity in a global mobilization against climate change’ (22 November 2025), paragraph 56, available at: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/cma2025_L24_adv.pdf