Record Indigenous Presence Expected at Amazon Climate Summit COP30

The upcoming COP30 climate conference in Brazil is poised to make history with unprecedented Indigenous participation. More than 3,000 Indigenous leaders from around the world have registered for the November 10-21 summit in Belém, Brazil—a city that serves as the gateway to the Amazon rainforest. This massive turnout reflects growing recognition that Indigenous communities are crucial allies in the global fight against climate change.

Indigenous delegates are arriving with a clear agenda focused on three key priorities: land rights, direct climate financing, and meaningful participation in decision-making processes. “Upholding Indigenous peoples’ rights is only possible by placing them at the center of discussions, negotiations, and decision-making,” explains Dinaman Tuxá, executive coordinator of Brazil’s Articulation of Indigenous Peoples (APIB). The groups are specifically demanding Indigenous land demarcation and direct access to climate funding as essential tools for combating global warming.

Early momentum has already built ahead of the conference. At a pre-COP30 World Leaders Summit, dozens of countries made significant commitments, including recognizing 160 million hectares of Indigenous land and pledging $1.8 billion in funding to Indigenous, local, and Afro-descendant communities.

Beyond land and finance, Indigenous delegates plan to address climate adaptation strategies, sustainable energy transitions, carbon market regulations, and loss and damage compensation. Their participation comes at a critical time when the world increasingly looks to Indigenous-protected forests as vital carbon sinks and biodiversity refuges in the climate battle.