Activists held the first mass protest at a COP conference since 2021, demanding greater environmental protection and the safeguarding of human rights for people impacted by climate change and resource extraction.

Right now at COP 30 in Belém, Brazil, governments are negotiating what it would mean to have a just transition. To make it work, we call on governments at Cop 30 to recognize rights such as a clean environment, social security, education, and health care.  Governments should address how the extraction and processing of minerals needed for the energy transition will impact Indigenous peoples, communities and workers. It's vital that they also think about the need for a UN tax treaty, so that we can raise the revenue that we need for good education, good health care, for schools and hospitals. And finally, governments should create a tangible process called a Belém Action Mechanism to make sure these promises happen.

Secure land rights are crucial for the physical and cultural survival of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities.

Imagine you have to leave your home where your ancestors have lived for centuries because of sea level rise and other climate impacts. Actually, many communities around the world are facing the difficult choice to stay in their homes or to move out of harm's way. Human Rights Watch has looked at such cases in places like Senegal, Solomon Islands or Panama. When they choose to leave their homes, it is done through a process called planned relocation and it is a measure of last resort for these communities who would much rather stay in their homes. We’re at COP30 in Brazil, and we just had a panel discussion on the importance of community leadership, knowledge and experiences to shape how these policies are made. If not done right, planned relocations can threaten the rights of these communities, such as their right to land or housing. You know, around the world, communities are already showing leadership already dreaming and envisioning for a better future. So one of the things that we’re pushing here at COP30 is for governments to put communities at the center of climate policies on planned relocation.

3 things to know about Brazil, host of this year’s biggest international climate conference, COP30

COP is the annual meeting where governments gather to discuss action on climate change. COP30 is happening a decade after the Paris climate agreement, which aimed to limit the rise of global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Brazil is hosting COP30 in Belém, in Pará state, at the eastern end of the Amazon rainforest. World leaders, scientists, non-governmental organizations and civil society will participate. COP30 needs to prove that the world is serious about ending its dependence on fossil fuels, protecting forests and defending the rights of those most affected by the climate crisis.

The world needs urgent action against climate change. And this is the site where those discussions are taking place.

Tainted Beef, Hides, from the Amazon May Have Been Exported to the EU.