BELEM, Brazil (AFP) — Nations sealed a modest agreement at the United Nations (UN) climate summit in the Brazilian Amazon on Saturday as many countries swallowed weaker terms on a fossil fuel phaseout to preserve unity.

Nearly 200 countries approved the deal by consensus after two weeks of exhaustive negotiations on the fringes of the rainforest, with the notable absence of the United States as President Donald Trump shunned the talks.

Applause rang out as the gavel was brought down in steamy Belem, capping a dramatic summit that witnessed raucous protests, a damaging fire and massive street marches.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who staked political capital on the success of COP30, said the pact was proof that a fractured world could still unite in crisis.

"The international community faced a choice: to continue or to give up. We chose the first option," Lula said in South Africa, where he was attending a G20 summit. "Multilateralism won."

There was less euphoria in Belem, where defeated European ministers admitted they only took the watered-down deal to keep the entire process from imploding.

"We're not going to hide the fact that we would have preferred to have more," said European Union climate chief Wopke Hoekstra.

The head of China's delegation at COP30, Li Gao, told Agence France-Presse that the summit will go down as a success.

"We achieved this success in a very difficult situation, so it shows that the international community would like to show solidarity and make joint efforts to address climate change," Li said.