The U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, Conference of Parties (UNFCCC COP 30), convened from Nov. 10-21 in Belém, Brazil, near the vast Amazon rainforest, to highlight how this critical region is shifting from a carbon sink to a carbon emitter. This change is driven by increased cattle ranching, roadbuilding, logging, deforestation, wildfires, oil and gas extraction, and agribusiness activities.

This year, approximately 56,000 people registered to attend the COP. However, the Trump administration did not send a delegation after withdrawing the US from the Paris Climate Agreement for the second time. Notably, the largest gathering of Indigenous Peoples—around 3,000 to 5,000 individuals from over 300 different ethnic groups—was present.

On Nov. 11, hundreds of Indigenous land defenders from the Amazon clashed with security personnel at the main entrance of the venue, demanding that their voices be included in the negotiations and that solutions impacting them be developed with their participation. 

On Nov. 14, members of the Munduruku Indigenous Peoples sought a meeting with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to share the challenges facing their communities. “We need to be heard,” stated Indigenous Amazon Defender Alessandra Korap Munduruku. This led to negotiations with the COP president, advocating for the immediate demarcation of their land to protect them from mining, oil, and gas exploitation. Land demarcation legally recognizes Indigenous Peoples’ rights and enables them to challenge extractive industries operating in their territories through the court system. They also expressed concern that their perspectives were overlooked, as negotiations were conducted in English without translations into Portuguese or other languages.

The COP 28 text in 2023 mentioned fossil fuels, and on Nov. 18, the COP 30 draft text clearly outlined the need to transition away from fossil fuels. However, by Nov. 22, a weakened agreement failed to mention fossil fuels or outline a roadmap for phasing them out—the root cause of the climate crisis—stating only that “the global transition toward low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development is irreversible and represents the trend of the future.” Over 80 countries supported a just transition away from fossil fuels, but oil-producing nations, including Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, blocked this measure.

Brandon Wu, Director of Policy and Campaigns at ActionAid USA, expressed his frustration, saying, “I’m angry at a really weak outcome. I’m angry at the [1,600] fossil fuel lobbyists roaming the venue freely, while the Indigenous activists [were] met with militarized repression…I have a special level of incandescent outrage at the rich, developed countries of the Global North who come in to these conferences, and they act like they’re the heroes, when, in fact, what they’re doing is shifting the burden of a crisis that they caused onto the backs of the poor.”

Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s Climate Change Minister, stated, “We don’t see the political action coming from states who are members of the United Nations and members of the international order….that they are refusing to accept the best scientific evidence and legal obligations as defined by the world’s highest court is quite astounding to countries that want…real action.”

On Nov. 22, the concluding day of COP, Colombia and the Netherlands revealed plans to jointly host the inaugural International Conference for the Phase-Out of Fossil Fuels, scheduled for April 28-29, 2026, in Santa Marta, a port known for coal exports. This event marks a significant move beyond the COP framework, aiming to create a roadmap for addressing fossil fuels and their associated industries. It will convene a coalition of countries eager to foster international collaboration toward this goal. The deadlock in Brazil further underscores the need to negotiate a Fossil Fuel Treaty—a supportive framework for a just transition that aligns with the goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C. The anticipated treaty aims to address what COP30 was unable to: establish fair timelines for phasing out fossil fuels, create financial support mechanisms for developing nations during their transitions, and implement a non-proliferation strategy to prevent new fossil fuel projects. COP30 President Andre Correa do Lago expressed his support for this initiative during the closing plenary on Nov. 22.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of WILPF’s COP 30 report: WILPF@COP30: Move the Money from Militarism to a Gender-Just Transition in February’s eNews.

With this new development, it’s crucial to consider the strongly worded opinion of the International Court of Justice from July 23, which stated that nations can be held legally accountable for their greenhouse gas emissions, those harmed by human-caused climate change may be entitled to reparations, and “climate harms” can be linked to major emitters and fossil fuel producers.

This article is Part 1 of our COP 30 report; Part 2 will cover WILPF@COP30: Move the Money from Militarism to a Gender-Just Transition in February’s eNews.