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When dawn illuminated the Amazonian city of Belém on Saturday morning, delegates remained stuck in a airless conference room, unaware whether it was day or night. They had been 12 hours in strained discussions, with scores ministers representing 17 groups of countries ranging from the least developed nations to the most developed economies.

Frustration mounted, the air thick as exhausted delegates faced up to the grim reality: there would not be a comprehensive agreement in Brazil. The latest global climate summit teetered on the brink of abject failure.

The sticking point: Fossil fuels

Scientific evidence has shown for more than a century, the greenhouse gases produced by utilizing fossil fuels is increasing temperatures on our planet to dangerous levels.

Nevertheless, during over three decades of annual climate meetings, the essential necessity to stop fossil fuel use has been referenced only once – in a decision made two years ago at Cop28 to "move beyond fossil fuels". Officials from the Middle Eastern nations, Russia, and several other countries were adamant this would not be repeated.

Mounting support for change

Simultaneously, a increasing coalition of countries were just as committed that advancement on this issue was vitally needed. They had developed a plan that was gathering growing support and made it clear they were prepared to stand their ground.

Less wealthy nations strongly sought to make progress on securing funding support to help them cope with the increasingly severe impacts of environmental crises.

Turning point

By the early hours of Saturday, some delegates were prepared to leave and force a collapse. "The situation was precarious for us," remarked one national delegate. "I considered to walk away."

The critical development came through negotiations with Saudi Arabia. Around 6am, principal delegates separated from the main group to hold a private conversation with the chief Saudi negotiator. They encouraged text that would subtly reference the global commitment to "move beyond fossil fuels" made two years earlier in Dubai.

Unexpected agreement

Rather than explicitly namechecking fossil fuels, the text would refer to "the UAE consensus". After consideration, the Saudi delegation surprisingly approved the wording.

Participants collapsed into relief. Celebrations began. The deal was done.

With what became known as the "Brazil agreement", the world took an incremental move towards the systematic reduction of fossil fuels – a hesitant, limited step that will scarcely affect the climate's ongoing trajectory towards crisis. But nevertheless a notable change from total inaction.

Major components of the agreement

• Complementing the indirect reference in the legally agreed text, countries will commence creating a roadmap to phase out fossil fuels
• This will be largely a voluntary initiative led by Brazil that will report back next year
• Addressing the necessary cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to not exceed the 1.5C limit was likewise deferred to next year
• Developing countries secured a significant expansion to $120bn of regular financial support to help them adapt to the impacts of extreme weather
• This sum will not be delivered in full until 2035
• Workers will benefit from a "fair adjustment program" to help people working in high-carbon industries transition to the renewable industry

Differing opinions

As the world teeters on the brink of climate "critical thresholds" that could eliminate habitats and force whole regions into chaos, the agreement was far from the "major breakthrough" needed.

"Cop30 gave us some modest progress in the right direction, but given the severity of the climate crisis, it has not met the occasion," warned one policy director.

This flawed deal might have been the best attainable, given the political challenges – including a US president who avoided the talks and remains committed to oil and coal, the growing influence of nationalist politics, ongoing conflicts in various areas, unacceptable degrees of inequality, and global economic instability.

"Major polluters – the fossil fuel giants – were finally in the focus at Cop30," notes one policy convener. "This represents progress on that. The platform is available. Now we must turn it into a actual pathway to a protected environment."

Major disagreements revealed

Although nations were able to applaud the official adoption of the deal, Cop30 also revealed deep fissures in the sole international mechanism for confronting the climate crisis.

"UN negotiations are agreement-dependent, and in a period of international tensions, consensus is progressively challenging to reach," stated one senior UN official. "It would be dishonest to claim that Cop30 has achieved complete success that is needed. The disparity between our current position and what science demands remains concerningly substantial."

Should the world is to avoid the most severe impacts of climate collapse, the international negotiations alone will not be nearly enough.