TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Several members of the Justice Coalition for Our Planet (JustCOP) expressed their disappointment with the outcome of the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), which was concluded in Belem, Brazil, on Saturday, November 22, 2025. This year's COP, referred to as the COP of the Truth, is deemed to have failed to address the increasingly alarming challenges of the climate crisis with real plans and actions.
The coalition expressed that the countries under the leadership of COP30 President André Correa do Lago failed to agree on commitments to transition away from fossil fuels. They criticized the final decision of COP30 for not addressing a fair and equal energy transition, along with full funding to shift away from fossil fuels. Yet, the use of oil, coal, and gas has been scientifically proven to be one of the root causes of the climate crisis.
"There are no concrete commitments and plans, either to end the fossil fuel era, stop deforestation, increase global climate funding, or to close the gaps in achieving the safe limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius set in the Paris Agreement," said Leonard Simanjuntak, the Country Director of Greenpeace for Indonesia, in a written statement from JustCOP on November 23, 2025.
According to Leonard, there is just hypocrisy from several countries that continue to ignore the impacts of a series of climate disasters affecting hundreds of millions of people. Amidst all this, the Indonesian delegation is said to have been mere spectators. "They deny the constitutional responsibility of the 1945 Constitution preamble to support multilateralism," he said.
Indonesia even received the negative award of "Fossil of the Day" for bringing 46 people and lobbyist arguments from the fossil fuel industry in its delegation and negotiations. The overwhelming presence of industry lobbyists at every climate conference is considered alarming.
JustCOP stated that the most fatal failure of COP30 was the refusal of developed countries to agree on funding provisions in all areas. These developed countries with ecological debts were said to be obstructing commitments for adaptation funding, mitigation ambitions, and the transition from fossil fuels. The failure to meet obligations based on the Paris Agreement is considered to have eroded trust and justice while limiting the aspirations of COP.
There is indeed an agreement for threefold adaptation funding for climate-vulnerable countries, amounting to US$120 billion per year from developed countries. However, the funding target was postponed to 2035 from the originally proposed target of 2030.
The coalition believes that the greatest achievement of COP30 was the establishment of a Just Transition Mechanism. This decision contains ambitious and comprehensive language on human rights, workers' rights, indigenous peoples' rights, and strong references to gender equality, women's empowerment, education, and youth development.
Torry Kuswardono, the Executive Director of Pikul Foundation, acknowledged that from the perspective of justice for vulnerable subjects, there has been progress by placing indigenous communities at the center of attention. However, he added that no significant decisions have been made yet regarding tenure rights, rights related to natural resources, or rights related to forests. "There is no specific chamber in the negotiations concerning tenure rights which are closely related to local knowledge and biodiversity," he said.
According to Torry, the commitment to stop deforestation is similarly aligned with emissions reduction commitments: there are no concrete plans. Although the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) funding scheme was successfully launched, he emphasized that this is not a victory, considering the mechanism is outside the scope of both the convention and the Paris Agreement.
The failure of COP30, held at the entrance of the Amazon forest, to produce a roadmap for halting deforestation, according to Torry, "further reinforces the fact that COP30, initially touted as a conference focused on forest issues, is merely a gimmick."
Nadia Hadad, the Executive Director of the Sustainable Environment Foundation, who also coordinates the JustCOP Lobby Team, expressed disappointment with the lack of concrete plans in COP30. She pointed out that the emission reduction targets are too weak, the funding mechanism is unclear, despite the threefold increase in amount, and the lack of concrete commitments from several major countries.
"Now the task is to convert that momentum into concrete plans," she said, expressing her support for Colombia, which will host a conference next April to create a clear roadmap. "There are benchmarks and institutional support for the implementation of energy transition," she hoped.
Pius Ginting, the Coordinator of Ecological Action and People's Emancipation, added that Indonesia is the main supplier of nickel for the world's energy transition. However, residents and indigenous communities still face threats of pollution and environmental degradation. Therefore, according to him, the new just transition mechanism must ensure that Indonesia gains access to safer and low-pollution industrial technology, supported by adequate research and public funding.
Editor's Choice: As COP 30 Ends, Environmentalists Applaud Colombia but Criticize Indonesia
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
