(Nov 6): Early discussions have been “positive” within the group tasked with ensuring transition away from fossil fuels benefits all people at the COP30 climate summit, according to Grace Fu, Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment.
Fu is co-leading the working group Just Transition alongside German official Jochen Flasbarth. It is one of Brazil’s flagship initiatives for this year’s summit, seeking to ensure that the global shift from fossil fuels happens in a fair and equitable way.
“The ministers actually were more positive towards the climate agenda,” at last month’s pre-COP meeting in Brasília, Fu told reporters on Wednesday. The atmosphere, she said, is “more positive than we had expected”, raising hopes for the discussions beginning in Belém, in Brazil.
As heads of state gather in the Amazonian city over the next two days, Fu strikes a rare note of optimism amid growing warnings that global climate momentum is fading. COP30, which marks the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, takes place as nations fall short of the target to limit warning to 1.5°C, with several yet to submit updated climate commitments.
The topic of transitioning away from fossil fuels remains particularly contentious. A recent report by United Nations Environment Programme shows that nations are still failing to set targets to curb oil and gas production. How to implement the pledge to quit fossil fuels — as energy demand rises and under pressure from US President Donald Trump to boost production — will be a major issue at the summit.
Geopolitical tensions, the global political shift to the right, high energy prices driven by the war in Ukraine, and inflationary pressures have all eroded political appetite for climate action, according to Fu.
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“Definitely momentum is waning,” she said. “So we have to find an alternative way. We have to continue with this initiative and find like-minded parties, like-minded countries, organisations to do even more.”
Climate finance also remains the cornerstone of credible climate action, according to Fu. Singapore is moving ahead with practical steps, including its US$510 million Green Investment Program, concluded in September, which channels blended finance into commercially marginal but high-impact green projects.
The city-state has also signed implementation agreements with 10 countries to develop carbon credit markets and recently completed its first carbon credit purchase, valued at about US$70 million.
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With more than 50,000 visitors expected in Belém but limited capacity, Singapore has cut its delegation to half the size of last year’s at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Fu said the decision reflected not only logistical and cost constraints, but also an effort to reduce the summit’s environmental footprint.
“Maybe this is a new way of engagement, because you can imagine that if the number of participants in total has gone down, each one of them will really be more meaningful, meaning more quality.”
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