COP30 Talks Center on Indigenous Access and Oil-Sector Influence

Indigenous representation and disputes over access to decision-making have taken center stage in the opening days of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil, as thousands of Indigenous delegates call for greater political influence in global climate negotiations.

According to the Coalition of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), roughly 2,500 Indigenous representatives—the largest Indigenous presence in the history of a UN climate summit—traveled to Belem for the meeting. However, only 360 individuals (14%) secured accreditation to the Blue Zone, the restricted area where formal negotiations take place. COP organizers noted that previous records—set in Paris in 2015 and matched in Dubai in 2023—reached about 350 Indigenous attendees, underscoring both this year’s unprecedented turnout and the limits imposed on access.

Tensions escalated Tuesday evening when hundreds of Indigenous protesters marched toward the COP30 venue, and dozens pushed through security barriers. “We cannot eat money,” said Gilmar, an Indigenous leader from the Tupinambá community in the Tapajós region, criticizing the summit’s focus on climate finance over territorial protection. “We want our lands free from agribusiness, oil exploration, illegal miners and illegal loggers.”

The protest highlighted longstanding grievances about the limited mechanisms for Indigenous participation in negotiations, despite Brazil’s efforts as host to elevate Indigenous voices. Without Blue Zone accreditation, Indigenous leaders cannot formally intervene, vote, or join closed sessions.

For many leaders, simply being at COP30 is insufficient. Toya Manchineri, coordinator of the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB), said formal integration into Brazil’s negotiating team is essential. “Ideally, we would participate as negotiators within the official country delegation. That would make a real difference,” he said.

Some delegates undertook arduous journeys to reach Belem, including members of the Yaku Mama protest flotilla, which traveled more than 3,000 kilometers down the Amazon River. They arrived to find limited access to discussions that directly affect their ancestral territories. Lucas Tupinambá, a young leader from the Tapajós–Arapiuns Indigenous Council, traveled two days by boat to attend. Only two people from his region received accreditation. “They are not interested in hearing from those who truly need to be heard,” he said, noting that communities along the Tapajós River face immediate threats from dredging vessels and mineral extraction.

Tupinambá also voiced concern about oil-sector influence. “Before any talks about oil, dredging rivers, privatization, or any measure that could harm Amazonian peoples, they must listen to us,” he said. His comments come just days after Brazil’s state oil company, Petrobras, received a license for exploratory offshore drilling near the mouth of the Amazon River.

A recent report from The Guardian published ahead of COP30 found that approximately 5,350 fossil fuel–linked representatives have attended UN climate summits over the past four years. The report cited 859 organizations responsible for sponsoring these delegates, noting that the largest 90 produced 33,699 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2024—enough to cover the entire area of Spain in a one-centimeter layer of oil. These companies also account for nearly 63% of all short-term upstream fossil fuel expansion projects now moving toward exploration and production.

For Adilson Vieira, spokesperson for the Amazonian Work Group, the findings confirm that the global climate process has been compromised by corporate interests. “While forest communities fight for survival, the same companies that cause climate collapse buy credentials and political influence to keep expanding their fossil empires,” he said. Brenna Yellowthunder, head coordinator for the Indigenous Environmental Network, echoed this sentiment: “We need to take down the ‘for sale’ sign on Mother Earth and bar entry to COP for oil and gas lobbyists.”