COP30 Must Deliver on the Promise of a Fair Fossil Fuel Phase‑Out

As leaders gather for COP30 in Belém, Brazil, they are under pressure to prove they’re serious about a fast, fair, and funded transition away from fossil fuels. 

What to Expect at COP30

Heads of government and ministers must move from rhetoric to action: The decision to transition away from fossil fuels was secured at COP28; now it’s time for implementation. Rich countries with the greatest historical responsibility and capacity must agree to phasing out fossil fuels first, fast, and fair, and meet their legal obligation to deliver the public finance the Global South needs to address the climate crisis. Implementation means clear, equitable national phaseout timelines, scaled-up public finance, and reforms to global financial rules that currently block progress. Finally, agreeing to form the Belém Action Mechanism (BAM) for a Global Just Transition anchored in rights, decent work, and public services is the key barometer of success for COP30.  BAM would help unlock the finance and technical support needed to make just transitions real, remove structural barriers like debt and unfair trade rules, and bring workers, communities, and governments together to accelerate equitable climate solutions. 

Key COP30 Moments & New Research

• We just released a new brief, titled “Planet Wreckers The Global North Countries Fueling the Fire Since the Paris Agreement”, which shows how just four wealthy states, the United States, Canada, Australia and Norway, are overwhelmingly responsible for derailing potential progress for oil and gas phaseout by collectively increasing their oil and gas production by nearly 40% since signing the Paris Agreement in 2015,  and are threatening the world’s chances of holding warming to 1.5 °C. Over the same time, all Global North countries paid only $280 billion in climate finance to the rest of the world since the Paris Agreement – while enabling the oil and gas companies they headquarter to make close to 5 times as much in profits (over $1.3 trillion). 
• We also released a new policymaker briefing outlining concrete COP30 outcomes governments must support to turn the fossil fuel phaseout commitment from COP28 into action. The briefing highlights the urgent need for equity-based timelines, public finance for just transitions, and systemic reforms to global financial rules. As climate finance talks intensify, this briefing makes clear that a fair and funded transition is both possible and essential. 
• On Thursday, November 13, 2025 during COP30, Oil Change International will launch an updated investigation exposing how fossil fuel shipments have fueled Israel’s war machine. Building on our previous Behind the Barrel research, the new report reveals which countries continued supplying fuel even after international bodies ruled Israel’s actions unlawful. 
• On Friday, November 14, 2025 during COP30, OCI and allies will support Kick Big Polluters Out (KBPO) coalition activities spotlighting corporate interference in climate talks. Building on live data of fossil fuel lobbyist attendance, KBPO will demand the UNFCCC adopt strict conflict-of-interest rules and permanently ban fossil fuel lobbyists from future negotiations. 

We’ll be paying close attention to:

• Fossil Fuel phase out and Just Transition: 
  • Negotiations towards shared principles of just transition and the Belém Action Mechanism (BAM) for a Global Just Transition anchored in rights, decent work, and public services.
  • Political signals reaffirming and strengthening the COP28 fossil fuel phase‑out language.
  • Equitable phase‑out timelines for fossil fuel production and use.
• Climate Finance: 
  • Delivery on rich countries’ legal obligations to provide grant-based public climate finance at scale, including through the Baku to Belém Roadmap and Article 9.1. Unrealistic private finance proposals from rich countries and multilateral development banks (including Global Gateway, SCALED+, and TFFF). 
  • Progress on ending fossil fuel subsidies and making polluters pay (includingCoalition on Phasing Out Fossil Fuel Incentives Including Subsidies (COFFIS),  Clean Energy Transition Partnership (CETP) and 2.1(c)). 
  • Reforms to global finance rules that currently block progress, including at the parallel UN Tax Convention negotiations. 
• Accountability mechanisms that name the governments and corporations stalling progress by fueling the crisis and failing to pay their fair share of climate finance. 
• Exposure of fossil fuel lobbyists and conflicts of interest within the COP process and momentum to kick them out entirely. 
• Initiatives that push dangerous distractions, including carbon credits, carbon capture and storage (CCS), carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies, fossil fuel based hydrogen or ammonia co-firing. 
• Trump administration attacks climate progress and UNFCCC space. 
• Global solidarity with Palestine and impacted communities, calling out how fossil fuels are not only driving the climate crisis, but also fueling war, occupation, and genocide. 

Statement

Romain Ioulalen, Oil Change International Global Policy Lead, said:
“Ten years after Paris, the world’s richest countries are still pouring fuel on the fire. The United States, Canada, Australia, and Norway massively increased oil and gas production while climate chaos intensified. This is a betrayal of science, justice, and their legal obligations. At COP30, we need more than rhetoric. Governments must deliver a clear roadmap with  fair fossil fuel phaseout timelines, and provide the trillions in public finance needed for a just transition. The money exists, it’s just in the wrong hands. By ending fossil fuel subsidies, taxing polluters, and canceling unjust debts, rich countries can unlock trillions every year. What’s missing isn’t resources, it’s political will. And with fossil fuel billionaires backing climate deniers like Trump and fueling violence and authoritarianism, the stakes have never been higher. Real leadership means confronting this head-on and standing with the people, not polluters.”

Media Interviews & Availability

Oil Change International spokespeople are available on‑site in Belém and remotely for interviews starting now, throughout, and following the climate talks. Please contact us to schedule interviews or request materials.

Media Contacts:

• Valentina Stackl, Oil Change International – [email protected] – +1 734 276 6260 (in Belém for Week One)
• Nicole Rodel, Oil Change International – [email protected] – +27 84 257 0627 (in Belém for Week Two)