Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has single-handedly attempted to resolve geopolitical tensions at the UN’s COP30 climate summit over a host of issues, led by a proposal to shift away from fossil fuels.
After nine days of talks, countries remained divided on a so-called road map to transition away from fossil fuels, whether the rich world should boost climate finance, trade battles and a recurring dispute on gender language.
Even the location of the next summit was fraught. Turkey and Australia finally struck a deal after a year-long drama over COP31, which included an entreaty to Turkey’s first lady Emine Erdoğan, who leads a zero-waste initiative, and letters from the Australian prime minister to his counterpart.