Brazil puts rainforests and Indigenous rights at the forefront of COP30 agenda

LONDON — At London Climate Action Week, Brazil today spearheaded a powerful statement ahead of this autumn's global climate conference, COP30.

A new "London Call to Action: Nature’s Guardians — On the Road to COP30" is placing rainforests and the rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities at the center of the upcoming climate talks.

The call to action, issued today by a coalition of government leaders, Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, and philanthropic institutions, was announced by Brazil’s minister for Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara, at a roundtable convened by The Royal Foundation of the Prince and Princess of Wales at St. James’s Palace.

It comes as a direct challenge to the international community to scale up ambition and action for climate, nature and justice.

"Together, we now have this Call to Action, that we need everyone to join ahead of COP30. You can count on Brazil", Sonia Guajajara, Brazil’s Minister for Indigenous Peoples, stated.

Financial backing is critical for success

Anders Haug Larsen, Director of Advocacy for the Rainforest Foundation Norway, applauded the initiative's focus and urgency:

"With this call to action, Brazil is unequivocally placing rainforests and Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities at the absolute heart of the global climate conference this autumn. We wholeheartedly applaud this initiative, which has garnered crucial backing from governments, Indigenous Peoples' organizations, and philanthropic institutions," Haug Larsen stated.

The statement emphasizes the vital role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities as "partners and leaders, rights-holders with their own solutions," whose knowledge and practices are essential to the health of ecosystems.

The London Call to Action directly links the protection of Indigenous territories and community lands to achieving global goals to protect at least 30% of terrestrial and inland water areas by 2030.

Haug Larsen underscored the critical need for financial backing to ensure the initiative's success:

"The endorsement from donor countries like Germany, UK and Norway is especially vital—continued funding, at least at current levels, is critical for success," he said. Key tropical rainforest countries such as Brazil, Colombia, and Peru have also signed.

Key decision-making roles and direct funding for IPs and LCs.

The Call to Action asks governments to:

• Support an Intergovernmental Land Tenure Commitment to strengthen Indigenous and local communities' land and resource rights, particularly in tropical forest countries.
• Support and renew a “Land and Forest Tenure Pledge” for Indigenous peoples and local communities, with financial support to increase IP&LCs tenure security, forest guardianship and direct access to funding.
• Recognize the critical role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities in nature and climate action and strategies, and include them in decision making and implementation, based on the principles of free, prior and informed consent.
• Meaningfully engage Indigenous peoples and local communities in the development of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility.

As leaders from government, philanthropy, the private sector, and Indigenous communities gathered in London, the message was clear: it is time to turn global recognition into resolute commitment. The path to a just and resilient future, they argue, must be paved with the rights and protection of nature’s true guardians.