COP30 Week Two: What happened, what mattered...and what comes next for global climate action.

This article sets out to provide a high-level summary of COP30's second week (November 18–22, 2025) and present the overall outcomes from the Belém summit, which concluded on November 22 after marathon overnight negotiations.

As COP30 entered its second and final week, the pace accelerated dramatically. Ministers arrived, negotiations hardened, and the global divide between ambition and delivery once again became painfully visible. While Week One focused on science, pledges and thematic announcements, Week Two was all about the political crunch: who pays, who cuts, and how fast the world can collectively move.

Here are the key outcomes and major talking points from the final days of COP30.

1. The Global Stocktake (GST) Deal: Ambitious Words, Weak Teeth

The Global Stocktake, the central outcome of COP30, finally landed after tense night-long negotiations. The Belém Package advances GST implementation (from COP28), and:

• Confirms that the world is not on track to meet the Paris Agreement target of limiting warming to 1.5°C.

• Calls for deep emissions cuts this decade, aligning with a phase-down of fossil fuels.

• Urges massive expansion of renewables, energy efficiency, and zero-carbon technologies.

• Stresses the need for tripling global renewable capacity by 2030 to 11,000 GW.

And what it doesn't say...

• No explicit fossil fuel phase-out, a line more than 120 countries demanded, but blocked by petrostates like Saudi Arabia.

• No binding timelines.

• No mandatory reporting requirements for major emitters.

In short: the direction of travel is clear, but the world is still driving without a map or speed limit. Alarmingly, only 120/195 countries submitted updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) or 'climate action plans' by COP30, with current pledges covering ~7% of needed cuts - we are a long way from serious progress.

This says a lot about the global picture and overall challenge, with perhaps the real test of COP30's success being NDC ambition throughout 2026.

2. Finance Dominated Everything (Again)

Finance disputes in Week Two overshadowed almost every agenda item. Several events stood out:

A. The “New Collective Quantified Goal” (NCQG) stall

Countries were expected to set a new global climate finance goal to replace the outdated $100bn pledge. Instead:

• Developed nations backed a looser, “flexible” framework.

• Developing nations demanded a clear number in the trillions, not billions.

• The final text simply commits to create a process to agree a number in 2026.

A classic COP outcome: agreement to keep talking.

B. The Loss and Damage Fund grew, but slowly, very slowly...

Additional pledges trickled in:

• A handful of European nations made new contributions.

• Some emerging economies signalled willingness to contribute for the first time.

• But financing still falls drastically short of estimated global needs.

Communities on the climate frontlines, from the Amazon basin to East Africa to the Pacific, made it clear: support is still too little, too slow, too bureaucratic.

3. Methane Commitments Strengthened (but enforcement is uncertain)

A coalition led by the US, EU and Latin American nations pushed a stronger methane plan:

• New commitments to cut methane 30–40% by 2030.

• Eight additional countries joined the Global Methane Pledge.

• Oil and gas companies offered voluntary reporting improvements.

However:

• No penalties for non-compliance.

• Limited progress on agricultural methane — politically sensitive but essential.

  
  

4. Nature and Deforestation: Mixed but Notable Progress

Week Two saw the first major momentum since the signing of the Global Biodiversity Framework:

• Countries agreed to integrate nature-loss targets into national climate plans by 2027.

• Several Amazon nations pushed a formal declaration on ending deforestation by 2030, but key countries resisted binding language.

• A new partnership on forest carbon markets was announced, controversial, but welcomed by some indigenous groups seeking revenue streams.

Nature is finally gaining the status it deserves in negotiations, yet still lacks the funds to match its importance.

5. Adaptation Was Finally Taken Seriously

For years, adaptation has been the poor cousin of climate mitigation. Week Two changed that slightly:

• A global Adaptation Action Framework was approved, outlining what climate-resilient infrastructure, food systems, water systems and health systems should look like.

• Countries committed to submit national adaptation progress reports every two years.

• But again...no guaranteed funding.

Adaptation now has structure. What it lacks is money.

6. Youth, Civil Society and Indigenous Voices Had a Bigger Platform

Week Two saw:

• The largest-ever youth delegation deliver a unified demand for a fossil-fuel phase-out.

• A new formal mechanism allowing indigenous knowledge to feed into official negotiations.

• Strong protests outside the venue calling for accountability and transparency, particularly around fossil fuel lobbyists and corporate pledges.

This was the most inclusive COP to date in terms of public participation, even if not in terms of political influence.

So What Has COP30 Actually Achieved?

Achievements

• A clearer global direction on emissions cuts.

• Stronger momentum on renewables and methane.

• Improved frameworks for adaptation and nature.

• Some progress on loss and damage.

• Greater global consensus on the need to accelerate climate action quickly.

Gaps

• No fossil fuel phase-out.

• No new finance goal.

• Limited accountability mechanisms.

• Insufficient funding for developing and vulnerable nations.

• No substantial shift in the politics of climate responsibility.

COP30 delivered progress, just not the breakthrough that science demands.

What Happens Next?

The world now enters a crucial 24-month period where climate action must accelerate dramatically. The key next steps include:

1. Countries must rewrite their climate plans by 2025

Under the Paris Agreement, nations must submit new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by the end of next year, the first round that must be aligned with the 1.5°C pathway.

This will be the real test:Will countries actually commit to deeper cuts, or repeat the pattern of vague ambition?

2. The new global climate finance target must be agreed

This will dominate COP31 and COP32. Expect conflicts, alliances and arguments over:

• scale (hundreds of billions vs trillions),

• responsibility (historic emitters vs emerging economies),

• structure (grants, loans, blended finance).

3. The energy transition is becoming impossible to avoid

Even without a phase-out statement, markets are shifting:

• Renewables investment keeps rising.

• Fossil fuel economics are weakening.

• Corporations and cities are taking action faster than many governments.

4. Climate impacts will keep intensifying, shaping politics and increasing pressure

More floods, heatwaves and disasters mean:

• rising demand for adaptation funding,

• more pressure on governments to act,

• greater scrutiny of COP processes themselves.

5. The credibility of global climate governance is on the line

Public patience is wearing thin.Scientific warnings are intensifying.And both trust and time are running out.

The question now is no longer: "Can the world meet its climate goals?", but is "When will governments act with the courage the moment (and our planet) demands?" At the moment COP30 looks likely to be remembered as another missed opportunity in history.