Despite firm demands from over 85 countries and over 100 private sector organisations, including the Global Renewables Alliance (GRA), COP30 disappointingly closed without a formal agreement to develop a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels.
Petrostates still hold multilateral negotiations on fossil fuel phaseout hostage, but they cannot halt real world progress. COP30 showed that governments are aligning behind the inevitable; renewables and clean technologies will dominate the future energy system, and drive jobs, security and growth. This reality is finally reflected in the cover decision, where language is catching up with reality, and was prominent across the action agenda.
The Brazilian COP Presidency rightly put the action agenda on equal footing to the negotiations. GRA’s support of the presidency resulted in information integrity and a strong grids and storage package in the action agenda – with trillion dollar commitments and new partnerships. Grids and storage are the backbone of the transition and are critical to meeting all of the Global Stocktake Goal on the energy transition and national climate plans. Their role must be reflected in any future roadmaps to support the inevitable transition away from fossil fuels.
We welcome the Presidencies initiative to drive a roadmap on TAFF outside of the negotiations. We as the GRA are fully committed to supporting countries on a fast, fair and orderly transition to the energy system of the future.
And we are already building that future. Investment in renewables is outpacing fossil fuels two-to-one.
Renewables have overtaken coal in the electricity mix (Ember 2025) two thirds of world countries have peaked in fossil fuel demand in final energy (Ember 2025) and 108 fossil fuel importing countries saved 1.3 Trillion USD since 2010 by switching to homegrown renewables (IEA 2025).
By 2050, the renewables sector is expected to employ 38 million people worldwide.
There is still cause for optimism. The process remains complex, but the cover decision reaffirms the energy goals of COP28 and the requirement for countries to deliver plans to implement these goals. COP30 has underscored the urgency of climate action, particularity in the face of heat, flooding, fire and protests across the diplomatic zone. It has also demonstrated that the Paris agreement and multilateralism is working. Solidarity is strengthening as a new energy economy is rising.
The Global Renewables Alliance ( GRA) represents the leading international industry players and provides a unified renewable energy voice. Comprised of founding members the Global Wind Energy Council, the Global Solar Council, the International Hydropower Association, the International Geothermal Association, the Long Duration Energy Storage Council and the Green Hydrogen Organisation, the Alliance aims to increase ambition and accelerate the uptake of renewable energy across the world. #3xRenewables.
