Finally, Indigenous peoples have an influential voice at COP30. They’re speaking loud and clear

Indigenous peoples are on the vanguard of climate action. Longstanding relationships with land means they endure the direct consequences of climate change. And their unique knowledge offers effective solutions to climate problems.

But despite this, international climate policies have fallen short of encouraging Indigenous leadership. With the UN climate summit hosted in the Amazon for the first time, COP30 marks an unprecedented effort to elevate Indigenous voices.

Returning to Brazil again after the 1992 and 2012 Rio conferences, COP30 has the largest Indigenous delegation in the summit’s history. More than 3,000 Indigenous representatives from around the world are in the Amazonian city of Belém.