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When dawn illuminated the Amazonian city of Belém on Saturday morning, delegates remained trapped in a enclosed conference room, oblivious whether it was day or night. They had been 12 hours in tense discussions, with scores ministers representing various coalitions of countries ranging from the most vulnerable nations to the wealthiest economies.

Patience wore thin, the air thick as exhausted delegates faced up to the grim reality: they were unlikely to achieve a comprehensive agreement in Brazil. The international climate negotiations hovered near the brink of abject failure.

The sticking point: Fossil fuels

As science has told us for more than a century, the CO2 emissions produced by consuming fossil fuels is heating up our planet to alarming levels.

Yet, during more than three decades of regular climate meetings, the essential necessity to stop fossil fuel use has been mentioned only once – in a agreement 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

Meanwhile, a increasing coalition of countries were similarly resolved that advancement on this issue was urgently necessary. They had formulated a plan that was attracting increasing support and made it clear they were willing to stand their ground.

Less wealthy nations strongly sought to make progress on securing financial assistance to help them address the already disastrous impacts of extreme weather.

Turning point

During the night of Saturday, some delegates were willing to leave and trigger failure. "It was on the edge for us," commented one national delegate. "I was ready to walk away."

The pivotal moment came through talks with Saudi Arabia. Around 6am, principal delegates left the main group to hold a closed-door meeting with the head Saudi negotiator. They pressed text that would obliquely recognise the global commitment to "shift from fossil fuels" made two years earlier in Dubai.

Unanticipated resolution

Instead of explicitly mentioning fossil fuels, the text would refer to "the previous commitment". Following reflection, the Saudi delegation surprisingly approved the wording.

The room collapsed into relief. Cheers erupted. The settlement was finalized.

With what became known as the "Amazon accord", the world took an incremental move towards the phaseout of fossil fuels – a uncertain, limited step that will scarcely affect the climate's steady march towards disaster. But nevertheless a significant departure from absolute paralysis.

Important aspects of the agreement

• Complementing the oblique commitment in the legally agreed text, countries will start developing a framework to gradually eliminate fossil fuels
• This will be mostly a optional undertaking led by Brazil that will report back next year
• Addressing the necessary cuts in greenhouse gas emissions to stay within the 1.5C limit was similarly postponed to next year
• Developing countries obtained a significant expansion to $120bn of annual finance to help them cope with the impacts of climate disasters
• This sum will not be fully available until 2035
• Workers will benefit from a "equitable change process" to help people working in high-carbon industries transition to the renewable industry

Differing opinions

With global conditions hovers near the brink of climate "tipping points" that could eliminate habitats and plunge whole regions into crisis, the agreement was insufficient as the "major breakthrough" needed.

"Cop30 gave us some modest progress in the proper course, but given the magnitude of the climate crisis, it has failed to rise to the occasion," stated one climate expert.

This flawed deal might have been all that was possible, given the political challenges – including a US president who shunned the talks and remains wedded to oil and coal, the growing influence of conservative movements, ongoing conflicts in multiple regions, intolerable levels of inequality, and global economic instability.

"Major polluters – the energy conglomerates – were finally in the spotlight at these negotiations," comments one climate activist. "There is no turning back on that. The platform is accessible. Now we must transform it into a genuine solution to a protected environment."

Significant divisions revealed

Even as nations were able to applaud the official adoption of the deal, Cop30 also exposed deep fissures in the sole international mechanism for addressing the climate crisis.

"Climate conferences are agreement-dependent, and in a time of international tensions, consensus is progressively challenging to reach," observed one global leader. "I cannot pretend that these talks has achieved complete success that is needed. The difference between our current position and what research requires remains alarmingly large."

When the world is to avoid the worst ravages of climate breakdown, the UN climate talks alone will fall far short.