The report “Strengthening the Voice of Indigenous Peoples and Traditional Communities in Climate Negotiations: Impact on the UNFCCC Regime and Post-COP30 Challenges”, published by LACLIMA, is now available.

The holding of COP30 in Belém marked a moment of strong protagonism for indigenous peoples and traditional communities in the global climate governance scenario. Beyond the symbolic dimension of political visibility, the conference produced relevant advances in the negotiation paths of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), while at the same time highlighting persistent structural limits to the full and effective participation of these groups in multilateral decision-making processes.

Among the main political outcomes of the conference, the incorporation, for the first time in the Just Transition Work Programme, of direct references to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in an operative paragraph of the final decision stands out. The text recognizes rights related to free, prior and informed consent, self-determination and the protection of indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation, reflecting years of coordinated advocacy by indigenous organizations and allied observers within the UNFCCC. Another significant advance occurred in the Belém Gender Action Plan, which now expressly recognizes the leadership, knowledge systems and experiences of indigenous women and local communities from an intersectional perspective. The decision also included, for the first time in the Convention's climate regime, references to Afro-descendant populations, broadening the scope of rights subjects recognized in multilateral climate negotiations.

The holding of COP30 in Brazil also produced political effects beyond the formal negotiation rooms. The conference was marked by announcements of territorial guarantees, the increased presence of civil society organizations in spaces of international visibility, and the creation of the Global Forum of Local Communities on Climate Change, an initiative that strengthens international coordination among representatives of local communities and consolidates a more coordinated political agenda in the climate field.

Despite these advances, the report warns that COP30 did not resolve historical problems related to the substantive inclusion of indigenous peoples and traditional communities in climate decision-making processes. Future negotiations will need to address significant gaps, especially regarding the participation of these groups in defining roadmaps related to the phase-out of fossil fuels and energy transition strategies. The document highlights that financial mechanisms and international initiatives continue, in many cases, to lack robust safeguards aimed at protecting territorial rights, reproducing top-down approaches and decision-making processes imposed from above. The report also identifies as a priority the protection of territorial defenders in the face of increased violence, pressure on traditional territories, and the expansion of illegal economies in areas inhabited by indigenous peoples and local communities, as well as the need to explicitly incorporate the impacts of critical mineral exploitation into discussions on just transition.

Within the framework of the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP), the final decision of COP30 recognized the efforts of local communities to expand their participation in the climate regime, but did not establish mandatory or immediate mechanisms for institutional inclusion. As already observed during SB62 in Bonn, the movements of greatest political pressure led by representatives of local communities occurred around the Platform, with significant repercussions in diplomatic corridors and formal negotiation channels. In this context, criticisms related to an alleged ideological and terminological confusion between the categories "local communities" and "indigenous peoples" even reached the final plenary session, revealing tensions still present regarding representation and political recognition within the UNFCCC.

According to the report, SB64 will represent a strategic opportunity to consolidate the progress made since Bethlehem. A new mandated workshop on local communities is planned, the results of which should inform the review process of the Facilitative Working Group (FWG), scheduled for COP32 in 2027 in Ethiopia. The technical submissions planned for 2026 are expected to play a decisive role in building new formal mechanisms of representation in the climate regime, expanding and diversifying the effective participation of rights holders in decision-making spaces regarding the global climate future.

COP30 therefore left a significant legacy of political visibility and normative advances related to the rights of indigenous peoples and traditional communities. However, the shift from symbolic participation to effectively binding participation will still depend on the construction of more robust institutional arrangements, the expansion of adequate financing mechanisms, and the political willingness of the Parties to incorporate these groups as central agents of international climate governance. In this context, the LACLIMA report offers a systematized diagnosis of the progress achieved and a strategic roadmap for the decision-making processes that will open up between 2026 and 2027.

Access the full report.