Miliband Urges COP30 to Find ‘Creative’ Path to Fossil Fuel Phaseout Roadmap

UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has called on COP30 negotiators to pursue “creative” solutions to preserve a global roadmap for transitioning away from fossil fuels, even as resistance from numerous countries threatens to derail the plan. The summit in Brazil has stretched past its scheduled deadline, and the latest draft text has removed the proposed commitment.
Miliband said that although the roadmap may not appear in its original form, a version of it must survive—possibly as a voluntary initiative. He emphasized that more than 80 nations, both developed and developing, support the push to chart a managed global transition. However, strong opposition from the Arab Group, Russia, Bolivia, and several African and fossil-fuel-dependent countries has stalled progress.
The EU has pressed countries to publicly back the phaseout commitment, calling the current text unacceptable. Some developing nations argue they are being pressured to support a phaseout they never agreed to, while richer countries resist calls to triple adaptation funding. Others, including Panama, say higher ambition on fossil fuel cuts is essential to unlocking greater climate finance.
Negotiators are also grappling with the alarming gap between current national climate pledges and the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target, with current trajectories pointing toward roughly 2.5°C of warming.
Even if the phaseout roadmap fails to make it into the final COP30 agreement, experts say the message is unmistakable: a growing coalition of countries recognizes the need for a coordinated, planned shift away from fossil fuels to avoid a chaotic future.