Lula Returns to Belém to Drive COP30 Toward Deal on Fossil-Fuel Roadmap and Finance

Overview

• After a full day of leader-level meetings, talks remained stuck on funding and adaptation metrics, and the anticipated first slice of the “Pacote de Belém” did not materialize.
• Brazil pressed a proposal for a fossil‑fuel phaseout roadmap that supporters say has backing from more than 80 countries, while key producers and major emerging economies resisted its inclusion in the formal text.
• Lula met negotiators from pivotal countries, including Saudi Arabia and India, as the COP30 presidency sought language acceptable to all parties under the UNFCCC’s consensus rules.
• Brazil announced a €1 billion German pledge to the Tropical Forests Forever Facility, but Berlin officials signaled no finalized figure yet, and Germany’s environment minister said an announcement was “very close” without naming an amount.
• Diplomatic tensions persisted over German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s remarks about Belém, with Brazil’s Senate approving a symbolic censure, even as Germany’s environment minister praised the host city and voiced support for the roadmap effort.