Announced by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as the host city of the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 30), Belém should attract the world's attention in November 2025, a month when world leaders will be in the capital of Pará to discuss measures to avoid the worrying forecasts related to global warming and environmental disasters resulting from the degradation of terrestrial ecosystems. One of these ecosystems is precisely the Amazon, widely debated around the planet despite the absence of Amazonians. The expectation is that this time things will be different.
"Hosting a world event like this in our country makes it easier for Brazilian native peoples to participate. When it is held outside the country, it requires a lot of money for us to be included in the debates. A COP here would allow us to speak of what we consider important", says Reinaldo Oliveira, from the Macuxi ethnic group, who is as a territorial manager in the São Marcos indigenous land, in the state of Roraima.
Oliveira believes that the Conference may provide international projection to the indigenous cause in Brazil. He recalls that the future of forest preservation depends on the protection of the original peoples, who are the greatest defenders of the standing forest, but who are otherwise increasingly intimidated by threats to the demarcation of territories moving through the National Congress, such as the Marco Temporal [Temporal Framework].
Oliveira believes that the Conference can give international projection to the indigenous cause in Brazil. He recalls that the future of forest preservation depends on the protection of the original peoples, who are the greatest defenders of the forest standing, but who are being increasingly cornered by threats to the demarcation of territories that pass through the National Congress, such as the Temporal Framework .
"There are many interests, from various segments, that discuss the reduction of indigenous lands in Brazil without due legitimacy but defended by very amplified and more audible voices. There is no contact of society with the needs of indigenous peoples and with the needs of the forest and rivers. This is reflected in the decisions of the Congress. Little of this is in evidence internationally and we need to articulate ourselves to ensure that this agenda will be debated in depth and measures will be taken. I see the young people of the village engaged to the indigenous movement and that excites me a lot for the COP 30. It is a different and social education that we need to promote in order to get to the Conference strong, united", he says.
Anthropologist Luana Kumaruara, named after the indigenous land she belongs to, located in western Pará, sees that the efforts of indigenous leaders to participate in previous editions of the Conference were worth it. She hopes to see not only the indigenous people taking the lead, but also the riverside and quilombola communities. She also advocates in-depth discussions on bioeconomy and governance for territory surveillance, which should include more fire and deforestation brigades, as well as the protection of local leaders, who live under death threats.
"Amazon is a priority agenda for climate change, so the main topic must be the people who live here. We need to be included in effective actions to keep the forest standing. This is never discussed or thought over with us, so now, time has come. Many projects throughout history have been implemented here in disconnectedly from the reality of the people, but today we are the protagonists of our stories and we are going to break this invisibility that has been imposed on us over the last few centuries", she says.
Event will shed light on, so far, domestic problems
Leonardo Barros Soares emphasizes Brazil is an environmental powerhouse and, therefore, needs to bring discussions about the theme to itself. A doctor in political science and professor at the Federal University of Viçosa, he recalls that Eco-92, in Rio de Janeiro, repositioned Brazil worldwide at a time when environmental demands were less explicit and debated, as well as less complex. Now, in an increasingly globalized and well-informed world, the country will need to balance global and domestic issues if it wants to become a leader to be followed.
"The matter is: how will we be until then? Brazil has issues that are directly linked to climate change and polluting gas emissions linked to deforestation and extensive livestock practices. We have seen a demonstration of strength from the ruralist group in the Congress. The Brazilian political class is strongly based on land concentration, a congenital problem of national constitution. It is a domestic policy dominated by people involved with agribusiness, livestock and mining that emit polluting gases. The ruralist representatives will be involved with all the international scrutiny that must be reinforced. I think observers will be very interested to see how Pará, which presented itself as a leading bioeconomy state, will be questioned in relation to illegal mining and its evident marks in the Tapajós region, and also in relation to deforestation of indigenous lands in southern Pará. These are domestic issues which lack visibility to the international public and will now be analyzed in detail", he says.
Soares points out that this type of event usually encourages concrete actions by the host governments, as in the case of Eco-92, which raised the government of Fernando Collor de Mello to a record position regarding demarcation of indigenous lands in Brazil, including the Yanomami territory, with 9 .6 million hectares. Soares is curious to see if the phenomenon will be repeated, but he also points out that although international pressure can do a much, it cannot do everything.
The professor also emphasizes that the presence of indigenous people in conferences has become increasingly common and a COP in Belém should reach the peak of this participation.
"Conferences have brought emissions reduction targets to mitigate the global temperature rise but aiming at a climate goal without demarcation goal is a mistake. We are aware that indigenous lands are crucial for maintaining a balanced biome and ecosystem, yet Brazil fails to commit to a demarcation target, which would be a decisive strategy in combating deforestation. The issues of decarbonization and sustainability in agribusiness are important, but our policy is moving in the opposite direction. Our challenges are domestic and long-standing, such as land tenure issues related to historical problems of unregulated exploitation of territory by powerful individuals, who benefit greatly from this scenario. The gains are concentrated in the hands of few ones; however, the losses are shared by millions of people. I hope that the COP will work towards promoting public policies that address this imbalance.", argues the professor.
Developed countries need to support the Global South
Doctor in social anthropology, Helena Dolabela, points out that an event of this magnitude in Brazil carries two significant meanings: firstly, it reclaims Brazil as a key player in the climate and environmental agenda, a role that has diminished in recent years. Secondly, it confirms a trend of reversing the logic that favors the Global North, consisting of developed countries, at the expense of the Global South, formed by poorer countries still undergoing development.
"It is an important aspect to recognize and give more space to the countries of the Global South, as we are the nations that suffer the most with the effects and consequences of the climate crisis, whether due to lack of public policies, infrastructure, or resources. We need to occupy this space and strengthen an agenda of climate justice that acknowledges the need for historical balance, considering that the developed countries have contributed the most to global warming and the effects we experience today. Therefore, they should propose actions and be opened to dialogue," she comments.
"The impacts are more severe here as these are countries that have undergone historical processes of vulnerability, with environmentally fragile areas occupied by low-income populations and with an ethnic-racial framework of historically excluded individuals. All of this needs to be brought to the forefront during a COP, as they are overlooked issues by the Global North. They are current challenges that need to be contextualized," she states, mentioning the floods that killed over a thousand people in Pakistan in 2022, as well as the landslides on the northern coast of São Paulo in the same year.
The agenda should include actions against damages that can no longer be prevented
According to Wendell Andrade, a forest engineer and Master in local development in the Amazon, Brazil cannot incur human rights violations as a result of loosening environmental and territorial laws. He emphasizes that while the rampant deforestation and the loss of biodiversity already entail significant economic losses for the Brazilian agribusiness, the same issues turn into a matter of life or death for vulnerable populations such as indigenous peoples, quilombola and traditional communities.
Andrade estimates that the three thematic axes of the COP will be the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, which encompasses various topics, such as renewable energy and definitive control of deforestation in the Amazon, Africa, and Southeast Asia; the agreement on a climate adaptation strategy, a set of actions that must be taken to prepare cities for the effects of what can no longer be avoided; and finally, deepening the discussion on financing climate actions that can stimulate the development of nations with minimal environmental impacts.
According to Wendell, this third topic also involves the transfer of technologies from developed countries to underdeveloped countries, in order to enhance the relationship between the Global North and South towards the energy transition and achieving net-zero emissions.
Another important agenda that needs to be resumed, he assesses, is that of Conservation Units (UCs). In Andrade's opinion, they are the best strategy that Brazil has found in the last 50 years to ensure the preservation of the country's environmental heritage.
"Last, but not least, we have to remember the urban mobility and solid waste guidelines, two with an urban 'face', but which affect everyone, with no escape. As our locomotion is increasingly chaotic and our means of transport continue to pollute heavily, besides we have never solved our relationship with the waste we produce. Brazilians, in general, think that 'garbage' disappears when it is collected at the door of the house. It is necessary to take advantage of the COP spotlight to raise these issues right away. It's the life of every individual there. It's not something distant, it's real", he says.
