Countries agree compromise climate deal at COP30 – but omit mention of fossil fuels

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11 hours ago

November 23, 2025

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Countries attending COP30, the biggest climate meeting of the year, have agreed to a compromise deal setting out steps to help speed up climate action.

The deal would boost finance for poor nations coping with global warming, but it fails to namecheck the fossil fuels driving it.

As the United Nations summit wrapped up in Brazil, applause masked disappointment in the many weak parts of the agreement.

But what many were celebrating was that they had agreed on anything at all – with countries around the world distracted by conflict and the cost of living, and the United States missing from the talks altogether.

The outlook for COP30 was bleak after two other similar forums this year – on green shipping and plastics pollution – fell apart entirely.

The UK’s Energy Secretary Ed Miliband told Sky News in the Amazon city Belem: “Donald Trump and the United States withdrew from the Paris climate agreement.

“Some people said that means lots of countries are going to [pull out] as well, a domino effect. That hasn’t happened.”

Rather than spelling out the fossil fuel problem, the agreement promises to “accelerate implementation” of existing commitments, nodding to an old promise from COP28 in Dubai.

The UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said: “I cannot pretend that COP30 has delivered everything that is needed. The gap between where we are and what science demands remains dangerously wide.”

Panama negotiator Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez said: “A climate decision that cannot even say ‘fossil fuels’ is not neutrality, it is complicity. And what is happening here transcends incompetence.”

He added: “Science has been deleted from COP30 because it offends the polluters.”

Despite no transition plan being included in the deal, the summit’s president Andre Correa do Lago said voluntary plans on fossil fuels and forests would be mapped out instead.

Next year, hardline Colombia, which is trying to leave its coal in the ground, will host a summit for those interested in the proposed fossil fuel plan.

Each year, the United Nations climate talks bring together world leaders, scientists, campaigners, and negotiators from across the globe, who agree on collective next steps for tackling climate change.

The two-week conference in Belem was a rollercoaster – from indigenous people storming the entrance to demand a greater role, to a brief fire in one of the tents, and sleep-deprived negotiators battling it out over the future of their countries.

COP30 was due to end at 6pm local time (9pm UK time) on Friday, but it dragged well into overtime – not uncommon for the annual, heated talks.

The standoff was between the EU, which was the last one standing on the transition away from fossil fuels, and the Arab Group of nations, including major oil exporter Saudi Arabia, which opposed it.

The impasse was resolved following all-night talks led by Brazil, negotiators said.

The European Union’s climate commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said on Saturday that the proposed accord was acceptable, even though the bloc would have liked more.

“We should support it because at least it is going in the right direction,” he said.

COP30 wins

But the summit made gains in other areas.

Climate-vulnerable countries like Jamaica and India will be celebrating a new pledge to triple the amount of cash to help them cope with the impacts of climate change.

Hurricane Melissa, which tore through the Caribbean just before COP30 started, was a reminder that extreme weather is becoming more intense and more expensive.

Brazil’s plan to host COP on the edge of the Amazon rainforest paid off – it raised almost $10bn (£7.65bn) to protect the world’s forests that are fending off climate change – including $6bn for a new investment fund.

And it also recognised and earmarked money for indigenous peoples and other communities that help keep them standing.

Indigenous people defined the image and the tone of the first week of the talks – storming the venue entrance, staging sit-ins and winning new legal rights to some of their land.

Toya Manchineri, of the Manchineri Peoples and Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon, said: “Indigenous Peoples will remain vigilant, mobilized, and present beyond COP30 to ensure that our voices are respected and that global decisions reflect the urgency we experience in our territories.

“For some, COP ends today, for us territorial defence in the heart of the Amazon is every day.”

Campaigners also won a new commitment that the switch to clean energy should be fair to workers and that communities do not lose out.

World

Fierce battle for frontline towns where Ukraine’s soldiers are surrounded

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11 hours ago

November 23, 2025

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Fierce battle for frontline towns where Ukraine's soldiers are surrounded

Footage geolocated by Sky News showed Russian soldiers walking through the Shakhtarskyi neighbourhood on the outskirts of Pokrovsk on Thursday.

The video sheds light on the situation in this key frontline area, as Russian forces slowly encroach on Myrnohrad, the satellite town to Pokrovsk, and one of its last remaining outposts.

Videos geolocated by Sky News show fighting intensifying in recent weeks, as Russian forces attempt to gain control of the towns and their network of road and rail intersections.

Gaining control here would give Russia a base from which to access key cities further north that form part of Ukraine’s “fortress belt”.

Russian forces are advancing from all directions, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), with only one small opening to the northwest of Myrnohrad remaining.

Estimated to be only 3km wide by military experts, this withdrawal corridor is patrolled by Russian drone units which monitor the area for moving vehicles and those who may attempt to leave on foot.

Russian forces have been advancing on Myrnohrad since late October.

Video from a Ukrainian unit in Myrnohad, posted on 29 October, shows a Russian vehicle attempting to enter the town from the northeast. The tank is attacked and soldiers attempting to enter on foot are targeted.

Video posted on 3 November shows Russian forces on the ground in the south of the town.

By 8 November, Russian strikes begin to pummel the northeast of Myrnohrad, the location of many of the town’s high-rise buildings, at that time, held by Ukrainian forces.

George Barros, Russia Team & Geospatial Intelligence Team Lead at ISW, told Sky News that Russian strategy in Pokrovsk has been to erode Ukrainian logistical capacity using drones and artillery over the course of several months.

“After denying supply lines and degrading the frontline forces by essentially cutting them off from behind and starving them out in their positions, then the Russians move forward with their infantry and frontal assaults,” Barros explained.

Capture the flag

For a brief period, it looked as though Russian forces had captured Myrnohrad.

Videos posted on 13 November appeared to show a Russian flag flying over the Myrnohrad mine.

However, video posted the following day showed a Ukrainian drone shooting it down.

Both Russian and Ukrainian forces continue to fight for control of Myrnohrad, with videos posted on the 19 and 20 November showing Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian positions in the town, and Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian forces on foot.

While the exact numbers of Russian and Ukrainian forces in the area remains unclear, reports indicate that three key Russian units are active in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, and are advancing on the towns from the north and south.

A number of Ukrainian units remain inside the towns, including the 145th Assault regiment and the 32nd, 35th, 38th and 155th Brigades. Reports indicate that more Ukrainian units have been moved into surrounding areas to hold the withdrawal corridor open.

Sky News reached out to the Ukrainian brigades still in Myrnohrad, but they declined to comment, citing military regulations.

Strategic significance

Natia Seskuria, associate international security fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), explained that the area is important for the Ukrainians to keep and the Russians to take because of its strategic position.

“Situated at a major road and rail intersection in Donetsk Oblast, Pokrovsk has functioned as a central artery for moving troops, equipment, and supplies to Ukrainian units deployed along the surrounding front.”

Russia “would gain a platform to redirect its offensive efforts toward Ukraine’s principal defensive urban centres… including Kramatorsk and Slovyansk,” Seskuria said.

Ukrainian and Russian soldiers in Pokrovsk have fought intensely and at close quarters over the last month.

In late October US-made Black Hawk helicopters containing specialist troops directed by Ukrainian military intelligence entered Pokrovsk to try to keep the town.

But as Russian troops advance, Myrnohrad is becoming the last stronghold of Ukrainian forces in the area.

Uncertain future

At least up until 12 November, there were still civilians living in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, despite strikes on buildings in both cities.

A post made on that day by the Donetsk state regional administration estimated 1,200 people remain living in Pokrovsk and 900 in Myrnohrad.

Evacuation is only possible with the help of the military or police, and it is not clear how many have evacuated in the 11 days since.

Barros of ISW says gaining Pokrovsk would increase Russia’s leverage at the negotiating table.

“If the Russians can successfully convince enough international leaders that, okay, the Russians took Pokrovsk, they’re going to take the next thing, and they’re going take the thing, so now let’s negotiate, then that is a strategic victory for the Russians.”

Production by Michelle Inez Simon, Visual Investigations Producer.

The Data x Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

World

Torrential rain triggers deadly flooding and landslides in Vietnam

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11 hours ago

November 23, 2025

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Torrential rain triggers deadly flooding and landslides in Vietnam

Torrential rain, flooding and landslides has left more than 100 people dead or missing in Vietnam.

Rainfall has exceeded 74.8in (1.9 metres) in some parts of central Vietnam over the past week.

The region is a major coffee production belt and home to popular beaches, but it is also prone to storms and floods.

Fatalities have been reported in Dak Lak province and the neighbouring Khanh Hoa province.

Footage has been released by local police of a dramatic rescue, involving a drone which airlifted a stranded man to safety from an island in the middle of the Serepok River, Dak Lak province.

The government estimates the flooding has cost the economy around 8.98 trillion dong (£260m).

More than 235,000 houses were flooded and nearly 80,000 hectares of crops were damaged, Vietnam’s disaster agency said.

On Thursday, VietnamNet newspaper said that a suspension bridge on Da Nhim River in Lam Dong province had been swept away.

Video footage posted online showed the bridge being swallowed by the river in just a few seconds.

Naval forces have been deployed to help stranded citizens in Khanh Hoa, the Vietnam News Agency reported, adding that floodwaters had reached record highs in many areas.

Photos shared in state media reports showed residents, including children, sitting on the roofs of flooded houses in Khanh Hoa, Gia Lai and Dak Lak provinces.

A seven-year-old girl was rescued late on Wednesday in Da Lat, the capital of Lam Dong province, after being buried by a landslide, the Nhan Dan newspaper reported.

The landslide, triggered by heavy rain, knocked down and buried part of the house where the girl was staying.

She was pulled out after an hour and a half and was taken to hospital with a broken leg, according to the report.

World

Several airlines cancel Venezuela flights after ‘hazardous situation’ warning

Published

11 hours ago

November 23, 2025

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Several airlines cancel Venezuela flights after 'hazardous situation' warning

Three international airlines have cancelled flights departing from Venezuela after a “potentially hazardous situation” warning.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Saturday issued an alert to airlines flying over the country, citing the “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela“.

The US is poised to launch a new phase of operations related to the South American nation in the coming days, four US officials said.

The exact timing or scope of the operations, as well as whether President Donald Trump has made the final decision to act, have not yet been established.

Brazil’s Gol, Colombia’s Avianca and TAP Air Portugal cancelled their flights from the capital, Caracas, in north Venezuela, on Saturday, according to Flightradar24 and the official website of Simon Bolivar Maiquetia International Airport.

TAP Air Portugal confirmed it cancelled flights scheduled for Saturday and next Tuesday.

“This decision follows information issued by the United States aviation authorities, which indicates that safety conditions in Venezuelan airspace are not guaranteed,” the airline said.

The Trump administration has been considering Venezuela-related options to tackle what it has portrayed as President Nicolas Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans.

Venezuela’s president has denied having any links to the illegal drug trade.

Mr Maduro, who is celebrating his 63rd birthday on Sunday and has been in power since 2013, has claimed Mr Trump is looking to oust him and that Venezuelan citizens and the military will rally against any such attempt.

Aeronautica Civil de Colombia said in a statement there were “potential risks” of flying in the Maiquetia area “due to the deterioration of security conditions and increased military activity in the region”.

Spain’s Iberia also said it was cancelling its flights to Caracas from Monday until further notice.

Reports of looming action have been growing in recent weeks as the US military has deployed forces to the Caribbean, amid heightened tensions with Venezuela. The Pentagon referred questions to the White House and the CIA declined to comment.

There has been a huge US military build-up in the region, including the US Navy’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R Ford, at least eight other warships, and F-35 aircraft.

The build-up in the Caribbean has been rumbling on for months, and Mr Trump has authorised covert CIA operations in Venezuela.

The US plans on Monday to designate the Cartel de los Soles, a Venezuela-based alleged criminal group, a foreign terrorist organisation for what the US sees as its role in importing illegal drugs into America, officials said.