The COP30 in Belém: A Missed Opportunity for Indigenous Representation
The COP30 in Belém, presented by Brazilian President Lula as the “Amazon COP”, aimed to bring attention to the centrality of the rainforest and indigenous peoples in climate negotiations. However, this choice highlighted the intrinsic contradictions of the process, as 50 thousand people, including many indigenous representatives, traveled to Belém to convey their vulnerability to the climate crisis and extractive policies, only to face limited and conflictual access to decision-making processes.
Decisional Exclusion and Clashes in Belém
Only 900 indigenous representatives, out of 3000 expected, were granted access to the Blue Zone, the space reserved for formal negotiations. This led to tensions and clashes, including protests, oceanic marches, and parallel assemblies, which denounced the profound fracture between the event’s symbolic celebration of the Amazon and the structural exclusion of those who have protected it for millennia. The campaign “A resposta somos nós” (“The answer is us”), launched by indigenous movements, symbolized this resistance, underlining the COP’s failure to recognize the principle of free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC).
The FPIC states that any project impacting indigenous communities must be discussed with them in advance, without pressure or coercion, guaranteeing complete and understandable information and ensuring the possibility of rejecting or modifying the proposal. In other words, no decisions about indigenous peoples can be made without their full and conscious participation. The Conference of the Parties has processes and a formally recognized Indigenous Constituency (IPO), but the government could have done more to ensure authentic representation of indigenous communities’ wishes and requests.
Lula between Proclaimed Rights and Authorized Drilling
The Lula government presented COP30 as an opportunity for a ‘progressive’ Brazil, announcing steps such as the acceleration of the demarcation of indigenous territories. However, this promise was accompanied by permission for new oil drilling in the Amazon, granted to Petrobras at the mouth of the Amazon River, configuring a ‘neo-extractivism’ that sacrifices collective rights for national energy security. The COP, which aimed to define a roadmap for a “progressive exit” from fossil fuels, reminded us that economic interests continue to prevail over the common good and the rights of those protecting the forests.
The Absence of Agreement on Deforestation
The failure to adopt an explicit and binding commitment to stop and reverse deforestation by 2030 was one of the most paradoxical elements of COP30. Despite the conference taking place in the heart of a biome considered close to points of no return, the negotiating texts recognized the role of indigenous peoples in decision-making processes only formally. The importance of traditional knowledge, protection of ancestral lands, and ‘significant’ participation of indigenous communities is reiterated, but this recognition does not translate into binding instruments or effective involvement in urgent decision-making issues.
In the Mitigation Work Programme or the revision of the WIM mechanism on losses and damages, the negotiating language continues to mention indigenous peoples as guardians of biodiversity without guaranteeing them real access to the table where their territories’ fate is decided. As COP30 came to an end amidst protests and unmet expectations, a group of countries led by Colombia announced a summit dedicated to those who want to take concrete steps towards abandoning fossil fuels. We hope that in this context, the indigenous voice will truly be the protagonist.
Article by Erika Moranduzzo, coordinator of the Climate and Rights section of the Italian Climate Network, and Martina Rogato, president of the Human Rights International Corner (HRIC) association. For more information, visit Here