Boos, blowups and last-minute pause as a chaotic COP30 closes out
- Last updated: November 23, 2025 | 12:08 ..
Jabs about greedy children, boos for the Vatican, and proceedings suspended for more than an hour: the COP30 finale unfolded with the same chaotic energy that defined the summit, exposing the rifts that came close to derailing a deal.
Andre Correa do Lago, the dapper Brazilian diplomat who presided over the two-week affair in Belem, opened the final plenary on Saturday afternoon, nearly a full day behind schedule, after nations worked through the night to find a text they could all live with.
Bleary-eyed delegates took their seats, eager to see the marathon talks finally come to an end.
The summit in this rough-around-the-edges Amazonian city had already been interrupted twice by Indigenous protesters last week -- once when they breached the compound and clashed with security, another time when they blocked delegates from entering -- before a fierce blaze on Thursday triggered a panicked evacuation.
A round of cheers broke out when Correa do Lago brought down his gavel and announced the adoption of the "Mutirao" text -- a Portuguese word of Indigenous origin meaning "collective efforts" that was also the summit's slogan.
Early in the session, a representative from the Holy See earned loud boos from NGOs after taking the mic to read out the Vatican's definition of gender along strict biological lines -- a side story at this COP after several governments, from Iran to Argentina, sought to clarify their positions in the gender and climate action plan.
But the drama did not end there.
After a COP defined by a bitter struggle between dozens of nations including the European Union pushing for a "roadmap" to transition away from fossil fuels, and oil producers and emerging economies firmly resisting it, the session saw an unusual procedural clash.
Daniela Duran of Colombia declared that her country had raised a point of order in a side text that was gaveled through anyway, and was now formally objecting.
Rather than brush her aside, Correa do Lago suspended the plenary, in an uncommon move that signaled Brazil's determination to show it was handling concerns seriously.
Observers suggested the pause likely reflected Colombia's deep frustration: the country had been at the forefront of efforts to include a "roadmap," and was displeased with how the talks concluded.
Diplomats huddled as the suspension dragged on for more than an hour before the plenary finally resumed.
"I have not slept, and probably this has not helped, as well as my advanced age," said Correa do Lago, in his mid-sixties, apologizing as he blamed an honest mistake for missing Colombia's point of order.
Still, Russia -- often aligned with Brazil in international forums -- chose to voice its displeasure, objecting to the objections.
"Refrain from behaving like children who want to get your hands on all the sweets!" scolded Russia's Sergei Kononuchenko, speaking in Spanish as he accused Colombia and others of trying to "stuff the sweets down your throat until you make yourself sick," prompting a sharp rebuke from Argentina.
India hailed the deal as "meaningful," while Europe, aside from a technical objection, largely stayed silent, underscoring how far the West had been knocked onto the back foot.
British energy secretary Ed Miliband cut an isolated figure, telling AFP during the enforced break that a climate agreement only implicitly referencing oil, coal and gas was still "important in the context of the US leaving Paris," even as he conceded "it's not everything we would have wanted."
Infrastructure woes had plagued the summit from the start -- leaking ceilings, broken air conditioners, toilets running out of water and more.
In a fitting coda, a torrential downpour in the final session -- "the wonderful noise of an Amazon rain," in Correa do Lago's words -- left parts of the carpet soaked.
Agence France-Presse