What Happened at COP30? The Key Takeaways for Smaller Businesses

COP30 also marked a crucial moment as it was the deadline for countries to submit their climate action plans (known as Nationally Determined Contributions) for the next 5 years. These are essentially each country’s commitment to reduce emissions. (For all COP jargon head over to our Jargon Buster blog!) 

But this year's conference also brought into sharp focus the connected challenges of finance, fossil fuels, forests, and action. Whilst the outcomes weren't everything campaigners hoped for (by a long way!), there were important steps forward that could shape the decade ahead.  

In this article we’ll break down some of the key outcomes and why, despite some real headwinds, green growth still looks set to push out polluting fossil fuels. 

Why This Matters 

10 years ago, at COP 21, the Paris Agreement set a goal to limit global warming to well below 2°C, with efforts to keep it to 1.5°C*. This difference really matters as at 2°C 200 million more people will be exposed to droughts, heatwaves are over 2 times more common and 99% of coral reefs could die out. That’s why scientists and negotiators have been so focused on 1.5°C and no COP is complete without a report on how we’re doing.  

The reality? Collectively, the world planned the global carbon budget to last until 2050, but at our current 'spending' rate, we'll have used it all by 2028.  

Takeaway for small businesses: Higher risks from floods, storms and supply chain disruption are unfortunately here to stay. And you might well be fired if you spent your budget like the way we’re spending on carbon emissions! 

Key Themes at COP30 

Each COP tackles a huge range of issues from how to cut emissions, how to adapt to a changing world and to make the transition fair. We’ve picked out a few of the key themes starting with the one that every company will be familiar with – where to get the money… 

Finance: Bridging the Gap 

Climate finance remained contentious territory at COP30. The historical context is important: emissions over the last 100 years show the United States and European Union have contributed far more to the climate crisis historically than developing nations. Emissions per person paint an even starker picture, the United States emits roughly 15 tonnes per person annually, compared to 2 tonnes in India. However, China is now the world’s largest emitter and India is not far behind. So who’s responsible? 

Clearly the answer is everyone (in COP jargon “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities !?) but the inequality in living standards underscores why finance is so crucial. Developing nations need substantial support to leapfrog fossil fuel-intensive development and adapt to climate impacts they did little to cause.  

At COP30 there was good news with a tripling of proposed finance needed to deal with present day effects of climate change. But with previous goals missed and developed (i.e. richer) countries highlighting tough fiscal problems at home the ambition may not be met with the reality. 

Takeaway for small businesses: everyone finds financing hard 😊 

Fossil Fuels: The Unfinished Business 

Despite support from over 80 countries, a comprehensive fossil fuel roadmap didn't make it into the final COP30 agreement. This was hugely disappointing for many as moving away from fossil fuels, which still dominate global energy use, is a centre piece of reducing emissions. 

However, this setback doesn't tell the whole story. The fossil fuel roadmap continues to exist outside the formal COP process, with coalitions of willing countries moving forward. The rationale - if you cannot get agreement from every country, team up with the large numbers who do agree, and go round those who were blocking!

Forests: The Missing Roadmap 

Given  that COP30 took place in Belém, gateway to the Amazon, forests were high on the agenda. Although support for a Deforestation Roadmap came from over 90 countries, this wasn't enough to get it included in the official text. However, Brazil plans to continue the roadmap outside the official agreement. In addition, the Tropical Forests Forever Facility was launched to reward countries for preserving their tropical forests. 

Action: The New Focus 

Perhaps most significantly, COP30 elevated action to the centre of climate negotiations. The conference produced over 100 "plans to accelerate solutions" under six key themes, with new mechanisms to track implementation.  

This represents a shift from commitments and planning, to practical delivery.  

Takeaway for small businesses: you may well be scratching your heads at this point wondering about why it’s taken so long. But that’s the quid pro quo of needing everyone to agree. Imagine 100% of your colleagues needing to agree on the annual budget or even just getting everyone to recycle correctly… 

What Was Achieved? 

So, with that background what was achieved. 

The Core Mission Remains  

Despite challenging geopolitics and concerns that previous commitments might be watered down, the baseline from Paris and Glasgow held firm and was in fact re-affirmed. In an era of rising climate scepticism in some quarters, maintaining international consensus shouldn't be underestimated. 

National Pledges Poured In 

122 countries have now submitted updated climate plans. Whilst these don’t collectively put us on track for 1.5°C they do move us forward, the fact that most countries submitted updated NDCs demonstrates continued engagement with the process. 

The Action Agenda 

The Global Implementation Accelerator and the 100+ implementation plans span areas including renewable energy deployment, sustainable transport systems, nature-based solutions, agriculture and food systems, building resilience and climate finance mechanisms. Crucially COP30 helped move the world to focus on delivering the real action required. 

The Technology Revolution Is Already Here 

Against this tough backdrop there is exciting news as whilst diplomats negotiate, the energy transition is already underway at remarkable speed. 

In 2025 Ember coined a new phrase the “The Electrotech Revolution” highlighting how the technologies behind how we generate, store, and use electricity is transforming our energy system.  

Solar and wind deployment, battery storage, electric vehicles, and heat pumps have all seen exponential growth over the past decade and crucially each technology follows a similar trajectory of rapid cost reduction and accelerating deployment. It’s so much easier for people and companies to choose the sustainable option when its cost is falling rapidly! 

And the economics are getting more and more compelling as Electrotech is approximately three times more efficient than fossil fuels. So, for example, a petrol car may turn 30% of the energy from burning fuel into going forwards. For an EV it’s 90%. Less power for the same forward motion = much lower cost. 

And the opportunity is huge as electric technologies have the potential to replace 70% of fossil fuels. 

The Big Takeaway for Smaller Businesses 

The falling costs of clean technologies mean that reducing your carbon footprint increasingly aligns with reducing costs. Solar panels, electric vehicle fleets, and heat pumps often deliver financial returns whilst cutting emissions. But there’s also no escaping that some of those measures require upfront investment to generate long term savings.  

If capital is tight, time your transition strategically. Replace vehicles with EVs when they're due for renewal anyway. Switch to heat pumps when your boiler fails rather than defaulting to another gas replacement. But don't wait for everything - energy efficiency measures, waste reduction, and cutting unnecessary travel deliver immediate savings. 

And there’s growth too. More and more customers, and often the large ones with big contracts, want to understand how SMEs are acting on their emissions. Giki Actions is here to help navigate this with over 600 practical ideas that we'll help you whittle down to a shortlist that works for your goals, budget, and timeline. 

Moving Forward

The outcome of COP30 was mixed. Progress in some areas, disappointment in others. But the broader trajectory remains clear and the transition to a low-carbon economy is now supercharged by lower prices and better products.  

Progress isn't always linear, it’s not happening fast enough, but it is happening. 

*Above pre-industrial levels