The Climate Reality Project Europe – COP 30 Position Paper

Under the text, you can find a glossary of the most important terms relevant to COP 30 and the climate negotiations process. 

A critical turning point

The world enters COP 30 at a moment of utmost urgency: recent datasets show that the global mean temperature is now approximately 1.3 °C to 1.4 °C above late-19th-century pre-industrial levels. In 2024, for the first time on record, the annual mean temperature passed the 1.5 °C threshold, based on at least six international datasets, and the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, warns that surpassing 1.5 °C is inevitable. 

The Paris Agreement commits Parties to “hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 °C.” The UNFCCC Global Stocktake concludes that current national policies would lead to a 2.4-2.6 °C warming trajectory, exposing millions more people to climate-driven instability. Unfortunately, only less than a third of Paris Agreement signatories submitted their new Nationally Determined Contributions (commitments and plans submitted to the UNFCCC). 

Given this state of progress, COP 30 must deliver more than reaffirmation of ambition - it must catalyse clear, urgent pathways to implementation. For The Climate Reality Project Europe, this means pushing for outcomes focused on a transition that is:

• Fast - accelerating the phase-out of fossil fuels and scaling clean energy to halve emissions this decade.

• Fair - ensuring the transition protects people and communities, upholds justice, and delivers shared prosperity.

• Funded - mobilising the trillions required through equitable finance so that all countries can act at the pace the science demands.

1. FAST: Commit to a global phase-out of fossil fuels

To keep the Paris Agreement goal within reach, COP 30 must deliver a clear global commitment and timetable for transitioning away from fossil fuels. The Global Stocktake confirmed that continued fossil expansion is incompatible with the Paris Agreement.

We call for:

• Adoption of a Global Roadmap to Phase Out Fossil Fuels, including a concrete timeline to end coal, oil, and gas in line with IPCC science.

• No new fossil fuel extraction or infrastructure, and a full phase-out of fossil subsidies by 2030 in developed countries.

• Accelerated deployment of renewables, grid modernization, and energy efficiency - especially community-owned and citizen-driven solutions.

• Methane and non-CO₂ gases included in national and global mitigation frameworks.

2. FAIR: Raise global and European ambition through New NDCs

COP 30 is the political moment for countries to submit new or enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) aligned with 1.5 °C. Together with climate organisations around the world, we highlight that current pledges are still far from sufficient to close the global ambition gap.

We call for:

• All Parties to submit 1.5 °C-aligned NDCs by the end of 2025, halving emissions this decade and incorporating just transition strategies.

• Clear, transparent mechanisms to track progress and strengthen accountability for inaction.

• The updated EU’s NDC to commit to at least 92% gross domestic emissions cuts by 2040 and 94% net cuts by 2035, which will pave the way for Europe (EU and non-EU countries) to become the first climate-neutral continent. 

• Policies grounded in equity and rights - supporting vulnerable communities, workers, ensuring gender equality, and integrating public participation.

3. FUNDED: Scale-up climate finance and reform the system

Climate finance is the backbone of a global just transition. The Baku-to-Belém Roadmap to 1.3 trillion USD annually by 2035, agreed in principle at COP 29, must now become an actionable plan. We emphasize that the roadmap must prioritize grants, debt-free instruments, and polluter-pays principles. A funded transition means the financial system must finally serve the Paris goals - not the fossil economy.

We call for:

• Allocate at least $300 billion annually to each of mitigation, adaptation, and loss & damage - approaching the trillion-dollar scale indicated by UNEP.

• Tripling adaptation finance by 2030 and ensuring predictable, multi-year funding for Loss and Damage.

• Reform of multilateral development banks to shift from loans to grants and align all operations with the 1.5 °C goal.

In summary:

At COP 30, governments must commit to:

• Fast – End fossil fuels and scale clean energy.

• Fair – Align NDCs with science, justice, and rights.

• Funded – Mobilise climate finance that transforms systems, not deepens debt.

Only through a fast, fair, and funded transition can the Paris Agreement remain alive and credible.

---

Key glossary:

UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) - The main international treaty guiding global action to address climate change, bringing together 190+ countries at annual conferences (COPs) to negotiate and monitor progress.

IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) - The UN body that assesses the latest scientific research on climate change, providing governments with authoritative reports that guide global policy and negotiations.

Paris Agreement - A landmark 2015 accord under the UNFCCC where countries committed to limit global warming to well below 2 °C, ideally 1.5 °C, and to regularly strengthen their national climate plans (NDCs).

NDC (Nationally Determined Contributions) - Country-specific climate action plans under the Paris Agreement that outline how each nation will reduce emissions and adapt to climate impacts, updated every five years to reflect greater ambition.

Global Stocktake - A process under the Paris Agreement, conducted every five years, that assesses collective global progress toward limiting warming to 1.5 °C and achieving the Agreement’s long-term goals on mitigation, adaptation, and finance.

Mitigation - Efforts to reduce or prevent greenhouse gas emissions, such as shifting to renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, or protecting forests.

Adaptation - Actions that help people, ecosystems, and economies cope with the current and future impacts of climate change, like building flood defences, restoring wetlands, or developing drought-resistant crops.

Climate finance - Funding provided by governments, development banks, and private actors to help countries cut emissions, adapt to climate impacts, and recover from loss and damage, with emphasis on fairness and accessibility for developing nations.