Jamaine Punzalan

Toppled trees and damaged houses are seen around the La Paz and Mayorga, Leyte after Typhoon Tino made landfall in the province on November 4, 2025.   Courtesy of Marie Tonette Grace Marticio/File

Article (news)

TINO PH

Raphael Bosano

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176394123125320251104-tino-ph-leyte-aftermath-HO1.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Toppled trees and damaged houses are seen around the La Paz and Mayorga, Leyte after Typhoon Tino made landfall in the province on November 4, 2025.   Courtesy of Marie Tonette Grace Marticio/File</span></span></span></div><p>BELÉM, Brazil — Tension and drama gripped the opening hours of the final plenary of the UN climate change conference in Brazil, as members of the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC) openly voiced disappointment over how the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) was handled.</p><p>The tension began when COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago gaveled through the Mitigation Work Programme, a mechanism intended to scale up climate ambition, without noticing that Colombia had raised its flag to raise a point.</p><p>Once an agenda item is gavelled, it is considered adopted and cannot be revisited. But a delegate of Colombia quickly raised procedural concerns.</p><p>“This is the COP of truth. This is the COP of trust. You are leaving us with no other option after the procedural issues that we’re seeing in the plenary,” said Daniela Duran of the Colombian Environment Ministry.</p><p>For Colombia and other countries, the issue was not just procedure. </p><p>The Mitigation Work Programme acknowledges the IPCC finding that climate impacts will be significantly lower at 1.5 degrees Celsius than at 2 degree Celsius, yet it makes no mention of fossil fuels, the main driver of global warming.</p><p>“The COP of truth cannot support an outcome that ignores science,” Duran said. “There is no mitigation if we cannot discuss transition away from fossil fuels.”</p><p>Despite overwhelming scientific evidence and support from at least 80 countries for a fossil fuel transition plan, negotiations remain in a deadlock. Major producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia continue to oppose language on phasing out fossil fuels.</p><p>Sensing the mounting frustration, do Lago stepped in with an announcement that two roadmaps will be developed after COP30. One of them, to halt and reverse deforestation, and another to transition away from fossil fuels in a just and orderly way. </p><p>His statement received thunderous applause.</p><p>But it’s important to know that these roadmaps are outside the formal negotiation text.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>What this means for the Philippines</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>For climate-vulnerable nations like the Philippines, the stakes are clear. Typhoons linked to a warming world continue to take lives and destroy livelihoods.</p><p>For the Center for Energy, Ecology and Development (CEED), the omission of stronger emission cutting measures is deeply disappointing.</p><p>“Every day, nararamdaman natin ang epekto ng krisis sa klima,” said CEED Deputy Executive Director Avril De Torres. </p><p>(We feel the effects of the climate crisis everyday.)</p><p>“Kung hindi magkakasundo ang buong mundo sa roadmap, hindi natin masisigurado na makakamit nga natin ‘yung collective targets.”</p><p>(If the nations will not agree on a roadmap, there’s uncertainty in achieving the collective targets here at COP.)</p><p>For Lidy Nacpil of the Asia People’s Movement on Debt and Development, a fossil fuel phaseout, while extremely important, must be paired with adequate and efficient finance.</p><p>“Without clear finance commitments, it’s like asking developing countries to do something impossible,” she said.</p><p>Much of the agenda moved quickly through plenary. But Nacpil pointed out that the adaptation language was even weaker than past decisions.</p><p>“It’s calling for a tripling, but without a baseline. If we use current flows as the baseline, tripling is still very little,” she said. </p><p>Despite this, negotiators like Vicente Paolo Yu noted that the Mutirão Package, which included a two-year work program on climate finance, still represents progress by keeping developed and developing countries in direct talks.</p><p>“It provides a way for both sides to talk and, in a way, hold developed countries accountable for finance,” Yu said.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:560px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:441px;height:253px;display:block;flex-grow:1" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=eyJ0ZndfdGltZWxpbmVfbGlzdCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOltdLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X2ZvbGxvd2VyX2NvdW50X3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9iYWNrZW5kIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19yZWZzcmNfc2Vzc2lvbiI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZm9zbnJfc29mdF9pbnRlcnZlbnRpb25zX2VuYWJsZWQiOnsiYnVja2V0Ijoib24iLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X21peGVkX21lZGlhXzE1ODk3Ijp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRyZWF0bWVudCIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfZXhwZXJpbWVudHNfY29va2llX2V4cGlyYXRpb24iOnsiYnVja2V0IjoxMjA5NjAwLCJ2ZXJzaW9uIjpudWxsfSwidGZ3X3Nob3dfYmlyZHdhdGNoX3Bpdm90c19lbmFibGVkIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6Im9uIiwidmVyc2lvbiI6bnVsbH0sInRmd19kdXBsaWNhdGVfc2NyaWJlc190b19zZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdXNlX3Byb2ZpbGVfaW1hZ2Vfc2hhcGVfZW5hYmxlZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdmlkZW9faGxzX2R5bmFtaWNfbWFuaWZlc3RzXzE1MDgyIjp7ImJ1Y2tldCI6InRydWVfYml0cmF0ZSIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfbGVnYWN5X3RpbWVsaW5lX3N1bnNldCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOnRydWUsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9LCJ0ZndfdHdlZXRfZWRpdF9mcm9udGVuZCI6eyJidWNrZXQiOiJvbiIsInZlcnNpb24iOm51bGx9fQ%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1992460693828989303&amp;lang=en&amp;maxWidth=560px&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-11-23T23%3A36%3A32.676475%3A5860f9ce-3fc8-4926-aacf-8d452c64b177%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=6657f3ee615f1e3a1abae97cec0e6cf461de60cb&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1992460693828989303"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><div><br/></div><div><strong>New coalition pushing ahead on fossil fuel transition</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>As draft texts circulated with no reference to fossil fuels, civil society groups and several countries voiced alarm.</p><p>Colombia and the Netherlands responded by launching the first International Conference on Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, set for 2026 in Colombia. </p><p>The initiative, known as the Belém Declaration on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, has support from 23 countries namely Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Micronesia, Nepal, Netherlands, Panama, Spain, Slovenia, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The group is a mix of developed, developing and small island developing states</p><p>The Philippines is not part of this coalition.</p><p>Aksyon Klima Pilipinas expressed disappointment, saying the Philippines’ absence contradicts its calls for climate justice.</p><p>“This silence sends the message that it prioritizes energy security over the well-being of its most vulnerable communities,” said AKP National Coordinator JL Algo.</p><p>CEED called the silence “an injustice to Filipinos” who live through worsening typhoons each year.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>After COP30 what now?</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>For many nations, especially from the Global South, COP30 carried hopes of more ambitious outcomes.</p><p>At the start of the conference, the Philippines said COP30 “must be a definitive turning point” toward real implementation.</p><p>Its key calls included, transforming climate finance, fully operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund and adopting strong indicators for climate resilience</p><p>With the summit now over, implementing these goals falls to national governments.</p><p>For the Philippines, that means updating its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and turning its National Adaptation Plan into actionable programs.</p><p>“We need to look at where we can cut emissions, transport, energy, efficiency,” Yu said.</p><p>“And where we can build greater resilience. That means interaction between national government, local government, and communities.”</p><p>He emphasized that the NDC and adaptation plan must not be mere documents, but tools that empower communities to respond to extreme weather.</p><p>As UN Secretary-General António Guterres said earlier in the summit, no country will leave COP with everything it wants. The final plenary proved this true within minutes.</p><p>But Yu remains hopeful.</p><p>“What gives me hope is that people still come to these talks. It means people still believe that international cooperation matters.”</p><p>The Philippines may not have taken bold positions on the more contentious issues, but its stories and the lived reality of Filipinos on the frontlines of the climate crisis continue to resonate to people from other nations.</p><p>“The Philippines is visible. We make our voice heard in all of the negotiating rooms,” Yu said. </p><div><br/></div><div><em>This story was produced as part of the COP30 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews&#x27; Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.</em></div><div><em><br style="caret-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"/></em></div><div><em><br/></em></div>

<p>Tension and drama gripped the opening hours of the final plenary of the UN climate change conference in Brazil, as members of the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC) openly voiced disappointment over how the Global Goal on Adaptation was handled.</p>

Tension and drama gripped the opening hours of the final plenary of the UN climate change conference in Brazil, as members of the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC) openly voiced disappointment over how the Global Goal on Adaptation was handled.

Beyond Belém: What COP30’s tension-filled finale means for Philippines

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Beyond Belém: What COP30’s tension-filled finale means for Philippines

Raphael Bosano

Published November 24, 2025 07:42 AM PHT

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COP30

Climate Change

UN Secretary General

Antonio Guterres

Philippines

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