Belém 4X
By supporting the Belém 4X Pledge on Sustainable Fuels (Belém 4X), unveiled during the pre-COP in Brasilia (14 October 2025), countries commit their intent to work collaboratively and expeditiously to pursue the expansion of sustainable fuels use globally by at least FOUR times by 2035 from 2024 levels, taking into consideration different starting points and national circumstances.
Expanding the production and use of sustainable fuels – including liquid biofuels, biogases, low-emission hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels – is essential to rapidly and significantly reduce emissions from hard-to-abate sectors, such as the industrial and aviation, maritime and road transport sectors. Efforts in this direction will make existing systems cleaner, more productive and more sustainable, complement electrification, and reinforce global climate ambition.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) will track the implementation of the Belém 4X. The Pledge is supported by a COP30 Action Agenda Plan to Accelerate Solution, led by the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM). Turning this ambition into reality supports the COP30 call to boost implementation of the goals multilaterally identified in the first global stocktake (GST) of the Paris Agreement.
The multiplying factor (4X) is based on the IEA Report “Delivering Sustainable Fuels: Pathways to 2035” (https://www.iea.org/reports/delivering-sustainable-fuels). The document states that quadrupling the use of sustainable fuels by 2035 is both feasible and necessary to reduce emissions, especially from hard-to-abate sectors. It is crucial, however, that countries adopt domestic and international cooperation measures to reach this objective.
Pledge Highlights
- International Collaboration – The goal will only be achieved through international collaboration to overcome existing barriers, such as lacking interoperability between carbon accounting methodologies, high costs and investment gaps.
- Sustainability - For a fuel to be sustainable, it must have low-GHG intensity over its lifecycle, measured in grams of CO2 equivalent by megajoule of fuel (gCO2/MJ). It also needs to comply with a set of non-GHG criteria, such as biodiversity conservation, sustainable water management and compliance with social safeguards.
- Energy Security and Development – The use of liquid and gaseous sustainable fuels helps accelerate supply chain development, enhances energy security, diversifies energy supply and creates economic opportunities.
List of Endorsements (9/2/2026)
- Andorra
- Armenia
- Belarus
- Brazil
- Burkina Faso
- Cabo Verde
- Canada
- Chile
- Costa Rica
- Côte d'Ivoire
- DPRK
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- India
- Indonesia
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Kenya
- Maldives
- Mexico
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Netherlands
- Panama
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Singapore
- Sudan
- UAE
- Zambia
References:
- Belém 4X Pledge on Sustainable Fuels full text (https://www.gov.br/mre/pt-br/canais_atendimento/imprensa/notas-a-imprensa/lancamento-do-compromisso-de-belem-pelos-combustiveis-sustentaveis-2013-belem-4x/2025-10-16_cop30-declaration_sustainable-fuels.pdf/)
- IEA Delivering Sustainable Fuels Report (https://www.iea.org/reports/delivering-sustainable-fuels)
- IEA Towards Common Criteria for Sustainable Fuels Report (https://www.iea.org/reports/towards-common-criteria-for-sustainable-fuels)
- IEA Carbon Accounting for Sustainable Biofuels Report (https://www.iea.org/reports/carbon-accounting-for-sustainable-biofuels)
- IEA The Role of E-fuels in Decarbonising Transport Report (https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-e-fuels-in-decarbonising-transport)
- IICA Framework for Action for Belém 4X: Doubling Liquid Biofuel Production Without Additional Hectares (https://repositorio.iica.int/items/7e19a8a5-7347-4a52-aa97-f70218d8555e)