Environmental Justice Advances Amid Ongoing Fossil Fuel Challenges at Cop30 Belém
At Cop30 Belém, the first-ever Just Transition Mechanism was established to ensure a fair and inclusive shift to a green-energy economy, protecting workers, frontline communities, women, and Indigenous people. However, negotiations still failed to secure a phaseout of fossil fuels.
Colombia and the Netherlands, supported by 22 nations, committed to independently developing fossil-fuel phaseout roadmaps starting with a conference in April 2026 in Santa Marta, Colombia. This parallel roadmap aims to share best practices, develop regional solutions outside the COP process, and could sanction countries and financial institutions continuing to support fossil fuels.
Civil society and Indigenous-led movements have been pivotal in driving progress. Notably, Colombia's 2023 signing of the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty involves 18 countries, 140 cities and subnational governments, the World Health Organization, over 4,000 civil society organizations, and more than 3,000 scientists.
In July 2025, an International Court of Justice advisory opinion stated that failure to transition away from fossil fuels violates international law, signaling climate litigation as a growing global accountability mechanism.
A South African court recently halted a major offshore gas and oil project, prompting the government to pause all other new oil and gas proposals pending appeal.
Brazilian President Lula da Silva announced initial steps toward a national fossil-fuel phaseout following Indigenous and environmental protests; however, Brazil also passed the so-called 'devastation bill,' which has been criticized for accelerating deforestation in the Amazon.
Throughout these developments, ordinary people power—through courts, protests, multilateral spaces, and ballots—continues to center climate-impacted communities in negotiations and actions, reaffirming that effective climate action requires sustained grassroots pressure.
