“In a year of worsening climate impacts and geopolitical conflict, COP30 was both absolutely necessary and completely insufficient.”
This was the standout COP30 key takeaway from Thomas Hale, Professor in Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, following this year’s Summit.
It was a COP defined by fires, Indigenous protests, low corporate engagement, and petrostate influence. What does this mean for the future of COP? Is the conference fit for purpose in a world where climate impacts are worsening?
For organisations seeking insights on climate strategy, the below COP30 key takeaways provide essential lessons for navigating climate commitments and corporate communications.
What Was Agreed?
This year delivered a series of action initiatives:
- $1.8bn for Indigenous land rights
- $590m for methane reduction
- $20bn for ocean protection
- $82bn per year for grids and storage
- Forests received $9.5bn alongside the launch of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility
These pledges, however, remain insufficient against the scale of the climate crisis. The summit aimed to increase adaptation funding, strengthen finance pathways, enhance national climate plans, and map roadmaps for phasing out fossil fuels and ending deforestation. Of these, only adaptation progress moved forward, and even this came with caveats.
Amy Giliam Thorp, Adaptation Lead at Power Shift Africa, said: “The biggest bone of contention across negotiation agendas was developed countries’ refusal to provide finance, and other means of implementation support. Their blocking of commitments on finance for adaptation and mitigation ambition weakened the overall outcome.”
Activism Through the Barriers
Brazil’s role as COP host has sparked significant debate. Its selection was hugely important as it is the first democratic country to host since Glasgow and was symbolic for the Global South, specifically in terms of the pressures climate vulnerable regions like the Amazon basin face.
Brazil also has a long history of social movements and advocacy. This created the political space for people to be heard and seen; from indigenous groups storming the venue, to an epic protest during the first week, and silent protests taking place outside, which led to an exchange with the COP30 Presidency.
Giliam Thorp adds: “We haven’t seen this level of civic engagement both within and outside the process for a while, particularly with representation of the most affected and vulnerable groups. The actions by Indigenous peoples of the region hammered home the message, “no decisions about us without us.”
The Big Fossil Fuel Stand-Off
Petrostates hold a huge amount of leverage within the process, and never has this been more apparent than during COP30. While some progress occurred, including clean tech acceleration and appetite for bolder actions, these were muted by waning support for a fossil fuel phase-out, particularly amongst delegates from the Arab group nations and Russia. Critics described COP30 as weak, but diplomats emphasised that the Paris Agreement remains intact.
Diplomats in response have stressed that the Paris Agreement remains intact and that multilateralism is still essential. Looking ahead, the process requires stronger alliances and renewed leadership from industrialised nations to scale finance and convince emerging economies that their prosperity lies in clean tech growth, not fossil fuel dependency. Encouragingly, China did not obstruct this; in fact, some say the business China is doing will outdo the US and their efforts to sell fossil fuels.
Corporate Involvement & Ineffective Storytelling
There are reports of lower corporate engagement due to the logistics this year, which raises the age–old debate about accessibility and who has a say in what is being done at COP. Businesses are riding the wave of the regulatory landscape, which is more unpredictable than ever. This may have influenced some companies’ decisions not to attend, especially those that are based in the US and have to navigate a very tricky political backdrop. Communications remain challenging for those companies that are having to avoid talking about climate change altogether, even if progress internally continues.
For those participating, the lack of storytelling stood out. Success stories, such as Kenya’s push towards universal green energy access by 2030, offered lessons for other countries. Kenya reportedly generates over 80-90% of its electricity from renewables (geothermal, hydro, wind, solar), placing it among the world’s leading countries in clean power share.
There are learnings for countries that are struggling to move away from traditional grid structures, and it’s up to communicators to share these success stories.
Is COP30 Fit for Purpose?
The format of COP has been debated for years, but the tone is shifting. Climate tipping points loom. Can COP deliver the outcomes countries need to hit critical climate targets? Probably not.
Panicked 3am meetings in air-conditioned rooms do not feel like the right way to drive a just, rapid energy transition. Signatories in a letter to the UN—including former Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon, former climate chief Christiana Figueres, and former Irish president Mary Robinson—stated: “Its current structure simply cannot deliver the change at exponential speed and scale, which is essential to ensure a safe climate landing for humanity.”
No one knows exactly what COP 2.0 should look like. Almost everyone agrees it is better to hold COP than have no COP at all. Without it, the multilateral system needed to tackle climate change could collapse.
Giliam Thorp highlighted COP’s role for the Global South: “COP remains important for climate-vulnerable regions as one of the few multilateral rules-based systems where their needs, priorities, and voices can be heard, but also where they can hold developed countries accountable to their obligations and commitments under the Paris Agreement and UN Convention on Climate Change.”
COP30 showed progress, but not at the speed or scale needed. Landmark pledges show intent, yet they fall short of phasing out fossil fuels or securing finance for vulnerable nations. Civic activism and indigenous voices are growing, but resistance from petrostates and political inertia remains strong.
If you’re wondering how the COP30 key takeaways apply to your organisation, or how your business can communicate its climate-positive initiatives, our team can help. Get in touch to explore strategic, impactful ways to share your sustainability journey.
See How COP Learnings Have Evolved Over the Years:
Each year, we round up the key COP takeaways and what they mean for organisations. Read our previous reports to see how climate strategies and corporate communications have progressed over time: