Negotiations ran late last night, and as delegates begin to leave the outcome of the summit remains unclear
Good morning and welcome to our coverage of Cop30 in Belem.
We are at the business end of the climate summit. Today appears to be the day that we will get an agreement in some form, but anything is still possible at this stage. Delegates are tired – ministers will have likely negotiated into the early hours – and return flights are getting closer. We are still waiting for a revised text for governments to debate at a closing plenary, which is set to begin at 10am local time (1pm in London). But as always, timings are flexible.
The UK energy secretary Ed Miliband said a deal to create a roadmap away from fossil fuels needed to happen “one way or another” – even if it was a voluntary process.
One representative from a country vulnerable to the climate crisis said: “Sometimes it’s like we are arguing with robots.”
Observers claimed the Arab group of nations had warned any mention of phasing out fossil fuels in final negotiations would see the talks collapse.
The architect of the Paris climate deal, Laurence Tubiana, said countries should not fear pursuing a deal on a roadmap.
Turkey and Australia has agreed to the details on hosting next year’s Cop31 summit, that will be held in Turkey. Turkey will take on the Cop31 presidency and an Australian – energy minister Chris Bowen – will be appointed vice-president and “president of negotiations”
Africa governments were still pushing for a tripling of the finance available from rich countries to help the poor world adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis.
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Breaking Waves: Ocean News
11/22/2025 - 07:25
11/22/2025 - 05:00
Trend is adding to ‘waste crisis’ owing to individual packaging and potential for unwanted items, campaigners say
The trend for Advent calendars aimed at adults is “superfluous consumerism” that adds to excessive and wasteful consumption, according to environmental groups.
While once children excitedly opened a door each day to see what festive picture lay behind it, adults can now count down the days to Christmas with calendars containing everything from luxury beauty products to instant mashed potato.
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11/22/2025 - 00:00
National Trust begins planting the 49 ‘trees of hope’ so the illegally felled tree can live on in a positive way
Saplings from the felled Sycamore Gap tree are to be planted across the UK, including at a pit disaster site, a town still healing from the Troubles and a place which became an international symbol of peace, protest and feminism.
The National Trust said planting of 49 saplings, known as “trees of hope”, would begin on Saturday. It is hoped that the sycamore will live on in a positive, inspirational way.
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11/21/2025 - 18:50
UK energy secretary says UN climate talks must find way to keep proposals alive despite significant resistance
Supporters of a global phaseout of fossil fuels must find “creative” ways to keep the proposal alive, including making it voluntary rather than binding, the UK energy secretary, Ed Miliband, has said in the closing stages of the UN climate talks.
As the Cop30 summit in Brazil carried on past the Friday night deadline, the prospect of countries agreeing on the need for a roadmap to a global “transition away from fossil fuels” looked increasingly dim. A first draft of the potential outcome text from the summit had contained the formulation, but in the updated draft text produced on Friday by the Brazilian presidency it had been excised.
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11/21/2025 - 13:48
President of talks urges ministers and high-ranking officials to find common ground as conference nears its end
Cop30 live – latest updates
Climate crisis talks look likely to stretch well into the weekend in Brazil, with countries still far apart on the crucial issues of phasing out fossil fuels and cutting carbon.
The Cop30 president, André Corrêa do Lago, urged ministers and high-ranking officials from more than 190 countries to find common ground: “We need to preserve this regime [of the Paris climate agreement] with the spirit of cooperation, not in the spirit of who is going to win or is willing to lose’” he said. “Because we know if we don’t strengthen this, everyone will lose.”
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11/21/2025 - 09:00
Exclusive: Concession follows fierce criticism of the workaround but may not be enough to convince minor party
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Labor would prevent a contentious “national interest” exemption being used to approve coal and gas projects if the Greens agreed to support its nature laws, Guardian Australia can reveal.
The offer follows a groundswell of criticism about the discretionary power, including from the author of the review that inspired the new laws, Graeme Samuel, and the former treasury secretary Ken Henry.
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11/21/2025 - 09:00
Australian Marine Conservation Society’s GoodFish guide aims to showcase the most environmentally friendly seafood sources
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As a challenging year for marine life heads into its final weeks, GoodFish has shared its list of sustainable choices for the festive season to help take the pressure off Australia’s oceans.
“It’s a time to be more careful than ever,” said Adrian Meder, sustainable seafood program manager at the Australian Marine Conservation Society, which produces the GoodFish guide.
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11/21/2025 - 09:00
Here are some of the standout images from this year’s Nature Conservancy Australia Oceania photo contest. Winners were chosen from over 3,500 entries from across Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands
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11/21/2025 - 06:53
Summit president André Corrêa do Lago issued plea to preserve Paris agreement with countries unable to reach compromise on scheduled final day
An informal stocktake plenary is now underway [see live feed at the top of the blog]. Here the presidency will update parties on the state of the negotiations.
My colleague Damian Carrington will be keeping across the main developments.
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11/21/2025 - 05:00
Nearly 13m people are hoarding millions of dollars’ worth of the stylish 50 peso note, featuring Mexico’s cutest critter
For most of her life, Gorda was just an axolotl who lived in a museum in Mexico City – that is, until she became the star of the country’s favourite banknote.
The note, which features a depiction of Gorda as the model for Mexico’s iconic species of salamander, went into circulation in 2021, dazzling the judges of the International Bank Notes Society, who declared it the Note of the Year.
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