Latin America Drives Inclusive Climate Agenda Ahead of COP30

Government officials, technical experts, and civil society representatives from 22 Latin American and Caribbean nations gathered in Mexico City to forge a unified regional climate agenda ahead of the COP30 Summit in Belém, Brazil. Held from August 25–26, the “Ministerial Meeting of Latin America and the Caribbean for the Implementation of Regional Climate Action” was led by Alicia Bárcena, Mexico’s Minister of Environment and Natural Resources, and André Corrêa do Lago, COP30 President.

A key priority for both leaders was crafting an inclusive regional agenda that reflects diverse national realities. The 19-point declaration issued at the close of the summit emphasized just mechanisms for climate finance and implementation, urging developed nations to assume greater responsibility for the energy transition. It also underscored the need to integrate small Caribbean nations, as well as Indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, into global climate negotiations.

At the outset, Bárcena and Corrêa do Lago highlighted Latin America and the Caribbean’s role as a climate leader, particularly as the United States, under President Donald Trump, retreats from international climate commitments and weakens domestic environmental regulations. In response to these challenges, Bárcena asserted that COP30 will be “the COP of truth”—a moment to set a fair, ambitious, and inclusive path for the planet. She declared: “Latin America and the Caribbean are today a model of unity, leadership, and climate commitment.”

Corrêa do Lago characterized COP30 as the “COP of solutions,” emphasizing the urgency of restoring confidence in multilateralism. “Despite disillusionment with multilateralism, Brazilian President Lula da Silva seeks to revive trust, proving that only collective action can deliver concrete solutions to global climate challenges,” he noted. The summit, he added, is “an example of how strongly this region wants—and is working—to meet the demands of our time.”

Joyelle Clarke, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment, and Climate Action for Saint Kitts and Nevis, reinforced the need for resilience in the face of US pressure on smaller nations and the private sector to scale back climate commitments. “Shifting geopolitics may dissuade some from maintaining the 1.5°C target, but we must remain steadfast in protecting lives and livelihoods,” she stressed.

A “Just Transition”

A critical theme running throughout the summit’s 19-point declaration was the need to ensure a just energy transition for developing countries across the region. Point 1 recognized “financing, technology transfer, and capacity building as critical enablers of climate action,” while Point 7 urged significantly expanded support from developed countries for the region’s implementation efforts. This point made specific reference to climate finance, which must be “new, additional, predictable, adequate, and accessible, disbursed primarily through grants and concessional instruments and non-debt-generating mechanisms.”

Expanding on the responsibility of developed nations—some of the world’s largest historical polluters—Point 2 acknowledged their “historical responsibilities and obligation to provide support to developing countries, which make significant contributions to global climate stability by virtue of their natural heritage.” Meanwhile, Point 11 called for strengthened technology transfer mechanisms from the Global North to the Global South.

Point 8 addressed the need for innovative financial instruments, citing initiatives such as the Baku to Belém Roadmap, which is projected to mobilize US$1.3 trillion in financing for developing nations, and the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF), a proposed blended-finance mechanism to incentivize rainforest conservation. The declaration also highlighted the Bridgetown Initiative, championed by Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, which seeks to alleviate financial pressure on indebted nations through measures such as pausing debt repayments after natural disasters, providing below-market lending rates for climate-vulnerable countries, and establishing a Global Climate Mitigation Trust.

Point 9 endorsed the Seville Commitment, adopted at the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, which includes provisions for climate-resilient debt clauses, debt-for-climate swaps, and thematic bond issuances aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Finally, Point 10 called for the rapid operationalization and capitalization of the UN’s Climate Loss and Damage Fund, first agreed to at COP27.

Leaders at the summit expanded on the meaning of a just transition. Bárcena defined it as one that “respects our national realities, sovereignty, and self-determination, while also demanding the historical responsibility of developed countries.” Former Colombian Minister of Mines and Energy Irene Vélez delivered a more pointed message: “We say forcefully that greater ambition must come from the Global North.”

Voices from the Caribbean

The summit’s declaration also recognized the distinct priorities of countries in the English, French, and Dutch-speaking Caribbean, which are often excluded from Latin American initiatives due to linguistic and cultural barriers. According to Point 3, any regional climate action must align not only with the 17 SDGs but also with frameworks such as the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for Small Island Developing States (SIDS)—a program that calls for increased support to Caribbean nations given their acute vulnerability to tropical storms and rising sea levels.

Underscoring this urgency, Saint Kitts and Nevis’ Minister Clarke noted that her nation lost a quarter of its land area between 1961 and 2017—and could cease to exist by 2100 without decisive global action. Point 13 reflected this dire reality, asserting that “the climate crisis is not merely a scientific or technical challenge, but a profoundly human one, demanding that we prioritize the experiences, needs, and aspirations of those on the frontlines of its impacts—and the special circumstances of SIDS.”

During her keynote address, Clarke criticized current climate financing models for Caribbean nations, arguing that they “focus on money transfer, imposition of ideas, and extractivism, instead of capacity strengthening and knowledge sharing based on deep respect for the wisdom embedded in our communities.” She also emphasized that the region suffers from energy poverty, offering vivid examples: “purchasing second-hand vehicles shipped to our region at rock-bottom prices and never having funds to buy an electric vehicle; never being able to install solar panels unless provided for free by the government; and being unable to manage the job losses associated with decarbonizing our economy.”

Arturo Massol, director, Puerto Rico’s Casa Pueblo, expanded on the inherent inequalities of the global energy transition. “Technologies must not define or impose new layers of domination over our peoples,” Massol stated, arguing for a “decolonial energy transition.” He elaborated: “We must use the sun as a primary energy source, decentralize generation, bring it closer to the point of consumption, and reduce vulnerabilities in transmission and distribution systems—weak points that fail during storms and hurricanes in our Caribbean context.”

Bárcena expressed satisfaction that the summit successfully integrated Caribbean perspectives, highlighting participation from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Suriname. “It was magnificent to see how regional agendas—like concentric rings—are converging, such as the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS,” she said. She also celebrated milestones achieved by Caribbean nations, including Grenada’s organization of the first regional sargassum forum in 2024 and Suriname’s achievement of carbon-negative status in 2014. According to Mexico’s environment minister, “the Caribbean’s presence is vital, allowing us to speak with one voice as a region.”

The Vital Role of Indigenous and Afro-Descendent Communities 

The perspectives and practices of Indigenous and Afro-descendent communities were recognized as essential to the region’s climate strategy. According to Point 11 of the declaration, all 22 nations “highlight the importance of Indigenous and traditional knowledge, practices, and technologies as vital to global efforts to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts.” Point 12 further emphasized “the critical role of Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and people of African descent as environmental stewards and guardians of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, who make invaluable contributions to reducing emissions, conserving biodiversity, and protecting soils and watersheds.”

Corrêa do Lago stated that one of COP30’s central goals is to fully integrate Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities—including Brazil’s quilombolas—into global climate negotiations. “They have taught us for thousands of years how to coexist successfully with nature; we must listen to them and bring their voice to COP30,” he asserted.

Bárcena underscored that most rural land remains essentially communal, making these communities indispensable to sustainable development. “We can no longer do anything without consulting these communities,” she declared, adding that Western notions of human dominance over nature must change. According to Bárcena, “the cosmovision of these peoples teaches us that we are an integral part of nature, and we cannot be true environmental stewards without learning from Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities.” She made special mention of Mexico’s own Afro-descendant population—estimated at 2.5 million—whose distinct legal rights were recognized  in the constitution for the first time in 2024.

Moving beyond declarations, the summit invited dozens of Indigenous and Afro-descendant representatives to provide direct input on the regional climate agenda. Introducing herself in her native language, Yaily Castillo of the Guna people of Panama articulated the deep relationship between Indigenous communities and the environment. “Ecosystems are not only resources; they are part of our life, our culture, and our spirituality,” she said, adding that climate negotiations cannot succeed without drawing from these communities’ experiences. “The world must recognize us as strategic allies who, through our ancestral knowledge, can provide real and conclusive solutions to climate change.”

Providing a concrete example, members of the Madreselva Collective described the creation of communal energy systems in the Guatemalan highlands. By implementing micro-hydroelectric plants, run-of-river systems, and community-level photovoltaic fields, Indigenous communities far beyond the state’s reach now generate their own clean energy. According to representatives, these developments—already replicated in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Peru, Costa Rica, and Colombia—directly advance climate action while also reducing inequality and energy poverty.