current concerns 2-006
CLIMATE CHANGE AND
‘UNFCCC COP30’ BELEM: WHY THE VOICES AND CONCERNS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND
MARGINALISED POPULATIONS MUST COUNT
-by Dr.
Uzodinma Adirieje / +2347015530362 (WhatsApp) / druzoadirieje2015@gmail.com
As the world looks ahead to the UNFCCC COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025,
anticipation is high. This COP will take place in the heart of the Amazon—a
globally significant ecosystem and home to millions of Indigenous Peoples and
marginalised populations whose lives, cultures, and futures are directly tied
to the land, forests, waters, and biodiversity under threat from climate
change. For decades, global climate negotiations have been dominated by
governments, corporations, and high-level technocrats. Yet, those most affected
by the crisis often remain sidelined. COP30 presents a historic opportunity to
change this narrative.
The Climate Crisis and Its Unequal Burden
Climate change is not an equal-opportunity disaster. While industrialised
nations have contributed the most to greenhouse gas emissions, the brunt of its
consequences falls disproportionately on those who have contributed the least,
especially in Africa and the global South. Indigenous Peoples, rural women,
youth, and other vulnerable groups face displacement from rising seas,
worsening droughts, collapsing fisheries, deforestation, and food insecurity. In
Africa, Asia, and Latin America, these groups often depend on fragile
ecosystems for their livelihoods. In the Amazon Basin, Indigenous communities
safeguard vast carbon sinks through traditional knowledge and sustainable
practices. In Sub-Saharan Africa, women farmers—who produce up to 80% of
food—are left vulnerable to erratic rainfall and declining soil fertility. Yet
these groups frequently lack access to resources, political power, and
platforms to influence global climate decisions.
The Case for Belém
When the Afrihealth Optonet Association (AHOA) and its partners supported
the hosting f COP30 in Belem, it was because we believed that Belém is more
than just a symbolic host city. Situated in the Amazon, it represents the
frontline of the climate struggle. The Amazon rainforest, often called the
“lungs of the planet,” regulates global climate, sequesters carbon, and
sustains biodiversity. Unfortunately, it is under unprecedented threat from
logging, mining, land grabs, and climate-induced degradation. Hosting COP30 in
Belém is an invitation to re-center climate discourse around the voices of
those who live within and depend on such ecosystems. Indigenous leaders in
Brazil, Africa, and beyond have consistently warned that without their
inclusion, global strategies risk being ineffective, unjust, or even harmful.
The Value of Indigenous Knowledge
Modern science has affirmed what Indigenous Peoples have practiced for
centuries: community-based, low-carbon, and ecosystem-respecting approaches are
effective in preserving biodiversity and ensuring resilience. Examples include
rotational farming, water harvesting systems, seed preservation, and sacred
conservation of forests and wetlands. At COP30, these knowledge systems must
not be treated as “add-ons” but as central pillars of climate action.
Empowering Indigenous Peoples as co-designers of solutions enhances
effectiveness while protecting cultural heritage and human rights.
Justice and Human Rights Dimensions
Exclusion of marginalised voices from climate decision-making is not merely
an oversight—it is an injustice. Climate change exacerbates existing
inequalities, deepening poverty, displacement, and social exclusion. For the
UNFCCC process to remain credible, climate justice must be at the core of
negotiations. This means:
1. Recognising the loss and damage borne by vulnerable communities;
2. Ensuring climate finance reaches grassroots groups, not only national elites
or large institutions, and are duly accounted for;
3. Guaranteeing free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) in climate projects
affecting Indigenous lands;
4. Enthroning gender-responsive, youth-inclusive policies that empower, rather
than marginalize; and
5. Recognizing and utilizing the Roles of Civil Society and Networks
Organisations like Afrihealth Optonet Association (AHOA), with its pan-African and
global community reach, have a critical role in ensuring that Indigenous and
marginalised communities are represented. Through advocacy, capacity-building,
and policy engagement, civil society can amplify grassroots voices at COP30.
Partnerships across continents i.e. Amazonian, African, Asian, and Pacific
Indigenous networks, are critical to push for fair outcomes.
Looking Ahead to COP30
The path to COP30 Belém must prioritise inclusivity. Governments,
negotiators, and international agencies must go beyond tokenism. Indigenous and
marginalised groups must be represented not just in side events, but also at
the decision-making tables where agreements are forged. Their concerns must
shape the core texts on mitigation, adaptation, and finance. As the climate
emergency accelerates, time is running out. The survival of Indigenous cultures,
biodiversity hotspots, and vulnerable populations hangs in the balance.
Equally, the credibility of global climate governance depends on whether COP30
will finally make good on decades-old promises of inclusivity and justice.
Conclusion
Climate change is not just an environmental issue; it is a human, cultural,
health, development, and justice issue. Indigenous Peoples and marginalised
populations bear the deepest scars of a crisis they did not create. As the
world convenes in Belém, their voices must not only be heard—they must count.
Only then can we move towards a truly just and sustainable global climate
future.
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