November 26 – COP30 in Belem should have been the moment the world’s climate architecture caught up with the reality unfolding across global markets. Instead, the summit has been widely assessed as exposing a widening gap: the real economy is accelerating toward renewables and clean electrification, while the multilateral system remains constrained by the slowest mover in the room. But the reality is more nuanced and more promising.
Much of the gap stems from the structure of the COP process itself. In a system where “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”, negotiators cannot simply reflect the rapid progress happening around the world when issues such as finance, adaptation and trade are simultaneously in play.
This is particularly true for some of the major emerging economies, where clean-energy deployment and electrification are advancing far faster than implied by the national climate plans and negotiating positions they put forward at the U.N.
Against that backdrop, Belem still delivered real movement. Forest protection gained fresh commitments, with the launch of the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) at the Leaders Summit ahead of COP30, a fund that hopes to raise $125 billion from loans and investments, with the aim of preventing tropical forest loss by rewarding countries who keep their forests standing.
And through the newly created Integrated Integrated Forum on Climate Change and Trade, countries will have a space to discuss challenges around aligning global decarbonisation efforts with trade policy.
The Action Agenda brought together work by more than 480 initiatives, including tens of thousands of businesses, investors, mayors, governors and civil society organisations, demonstrating real world progress on implementation.
And Brazil announced new COP presidency-led multistakeholder roadmaps on fossil fuels and deforestation that could, if approached seriously, inject long-missing direction into global implementation. These are meaningful developments. They reflect an understanding that this decade is no longer about negotiating the “what”, but delivering the “how”.
Although blocked by producer countries from appearing in the final text, more than 80 countries, representing one third of global fossil fuel imports, backed by more than 150 global businesses and civil society groups, pushed for a roadmap to transition away from oil, gas and coal.
Blocking such a roadmap is in nobody’s interest, because without a coordinated pathway, the transition will still happen, but it will be less orderly and more costly. Countries with diversified economies will move regardless; those dependent on fossil revenues will find themselves managing disruption rather than shaping the solutions.
President of COP30 and Ambassador Andre Correa do Lago and Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva shake hands during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30), in Belem, Brazil, November 19, 2025. REUTERS/Adriano Machado Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
So the emergence of a coalition of the willing is a significant result. With Brazil only just beginning its year-long presidency, and Colombia and the Netherlands announcing a conference on fossil fuel phase-out next April, we now have political leadership outside the formal text that can take this forward. In some ways, that pathway may prove more workable than trying to force unanimity where it doesn’t exist.
The Mutirao decision – a high-level political text proposed by the COP presidency and adopted by Parties – called for the tripling of adaptation finance by 2035. Tripling adaptation finance is a critical signal, but the language has been weakened and does not mention a specific baseline.
As climate impacts worsen, this target does not meet the growing needs of developing countries to adapt to climate change and will delay urgently needed protection of communities, economies, and ecosystems. Vulnerable countries will see little comfort in another pledge without a delivery plan. And businesses need more certainty to plan and invest for resilience along their supply chains.
Belem also launched the idea of a Global Implementation Accelerator, a platform that could bring governments, investors, subnational leaders and businesses into a shared process for delivery.
This could be transformative, but only if it avoids the fate of too many COP innovations that are declared with enthusiasm, then starved of mandate or structure. A credible accelerator needs three things: clear metrics tied to the Global Stocktake; regular, technical engagement between governments and businesses (not set-piece dialogues, but operational working groups); and political visibility, because implementation only happens when ministers and regulators are accountable for progress. If designed to do real work, the accelerator could close the widening gap between political negotiation and economic transformation.
The sea wall in Jakarta, Indonesia, was built to protect residents from rising seas. REUTERS/Beawiharta Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tabCOP30 saw significant business participation, and analysis shows that even U.S. companies showed up in greater numbers than COP29. The fact that major global companies and investors urged governments to begin developing a fossil-fuel transition roadmap underscores how strongly real-economy momentum now favours a clear, coordinated shift to clean energy.
Businesses came because they understand the stakes, but companies are pragmatic. They will continue to invest in clean solutions regardless of political consensus, but their engagement with the COP process depends on whether it delivers avenues for practical cooperation.
If COPs remain forums where ambition is diluted in pursuit of unanimity, business attention will drift toward national processes and bilateral partnerships, where outcomes are clearer and faster.
We are in an era defined by implementation, industrial competition and rapid technological disruption, where the real economy is moving faster than the political machinery. The Paris Agreement remains the backbone for coordination, but it must now evolve into a framework that supports delivery, and aligns political timelines with the speed at which markets and technology are transforming economies.
Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias. Ethical Corporation Magazine, a part of Reuters Professional, is owned by Thomson Reuters and operates independently of Reuters News.