saying they failed to explicitly mention the cause of global warming — the burning of fuels such as oil, gas and coal. The proposals, released on what was to be the last day of the talks, came on the heels of a fire on Thursday that briefly spread through pavilions of the conference known as COP30 on the edge of the Amazon, prompting evacuations. Officials said 13 people were treated for smoke inhalation. A key text among host Brazil's proposals — called the mutirao decision — deals with four sticky issues, including climate financial aid and strengthening inadequate national climate plans.

A second big issue that has loomed over the talks in the city of Belem is creating a detailed road map for the world to phase out fossil fuels. Any such plan would expand on a single sentence—to "transition away" from fossil fuels—agreed upon two years ago at the climate talks in Dubai. That language has not changed since and greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, heating the planet, which leads to more frequent and intense extreme weather events such as heat waves, floods and prolonged drought and wildfires.

More than 80 nations have called for stronger directions and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also pushed for it earlier this month. On phasing out fossil fuels, the mutirao decision says that it "acknowledges that the global transition towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development is irreversible and the trend of the future." (Jamaica Gleaner)