Afro-descendant leaders call for greater participation in COP30
On Thursday (May 29), Afro-descendant leaders from 16 countries presented a letter of demands to the presidency of the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), calling for greater participation in global climate negotiation spaces.
According to the entities that make up the International Coalition of Organizations for the Defense, Conservation, and Protection of Territories, the Environment, Land Use, and Climate Change of Afro-descendant Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean (Citafro), the request represents more than 180 million Afro-descendants.
In addition to demanding voice and recognition, the agenda calls for climate justice through territorial planning, secure land tenure, titling, and legal protection of territories.
“For us, this space is very important, as is the recognition of the role Afro-descendants play in preserving and contributing to climate balance. We, quilombolas, represent more than 8,441 communities across Brazil. We are present in all biomes,” emphasizes Biko Rodrigues, executive coordinator of the National Coordination of Articulation of Black Rural Quilombola Communities (CONAQ).
The document also calls for the inclusion of Afro-descendant peoples in the summary reports of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
“Brazil needs to include in the annex of its commitments and goals the recognition that there is no climate solution without land regularization. It is also impossible to discuss land management without establishing specific and targeted goals for quilombola communities. Likewise, it is not possible to discuss climate financing without addressing how this financing will be used to regularize these territories,” argues Kátia Penha, Brazil’s representative at Citafro.
Environment Minister Marina Silva participates in a meeting with Afro-descendant leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean to formally submit her political and institutional proposals for COP30, which will be held in Belém (PA), to Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo: Antonio Cruz/Agência Brasil
The letter was delivered in Brasília to Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, the designated president of COP30, during the ceremony establishing the International Commission of Traditional Communities, Afro-descendants, and Family Farmers within the People’s Circle for the conference.
The group is part of a broader structure for organizing the conference, which includes three other circles that the presidency in mobilization efforts and in tackling climate change. “This is an architecture designed precisely to accommodate the demand for social participation,” emphasized Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva.
The designated president of COP30 noted that one of the major challenges in climate change negotiations is that participation is limited solely to official country representatives.
“That is why we created the action agenda, which allows other actors to participate,” emphasized Corrêa do Lago.
The ambassador emphasized that for this reason, the role of a coalition becomes increasingly important in the preliminary work of preparing these representatives, just as it did during COP16 on biodiversity.
“You can count on my deep , enthusiasm, and commitment to this effort. Please hold me able. Test my patience if you must—this issue deserves our utmost attention,” said the ambassador.
