Could the anti-COP and planned demonstrations in Belém help advance the protection needs of environmental defenders?

Published by Brent Patterson on January 28, 2025January 28, 2025

Photo: The anti-COP in Oaxaca, Mexico, 2024.

The United Nations Conference of Parties COP30 climate conference will take place in Belém, Brazil this coming November 10 to 21.

On the first day of his presidency, January 20, Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement reached at COP21.

It will take about a year for the withdrawal to be formalized.

What could the political moment be like when COP30 takes place ten months from now?

Within the first eight days of his presidency, we have already seen Trump clash with Colombian president Gustavo Petro over deportation flights where migrants were shackled on US Air Force C-17 cargo aircraft.

In response to these deportations, Honduras President Xiomara Castro has called for a hybrid (virtual and in-person) meeting – to take place on Thursday January 30 at 11 am local time – of the 33 members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), including Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico and Brazil.

Colombian president Petro will fly to Tegucigalpa for this meeting.

The “environment” will also be on the agenda of this meeting.

Is it possible that the leaders of some states will see COP30 as a moment to mobilize against the assault on the planet?

Increased risks for environmental defenders

Earlier this month, Washington, DC-based Global Witness expressed the concern that “the US is moving backwards in its support of land and environmental defenders who are at-risk from violence, arrest and land invasions.”

Then last week the executive directors of all Amnesty International Americas sections issued a joint statement that further suggested that Trump in the White House “could signal fewer institutional controls or even inspire the arbitrary use of power” with Amnesty International Paraguay stating “Attacks on journalists, human rights defenders, and judicial independence have no ideological distinction and can easily spread throughout the continent if there is no unequivocal support for organized civil society.”

The anti-COP and demonstrations in Belém

In his article Will COP30 Deliver for the Amazon — and the Planet?, Bernardo Jurema, a climate researcher at the Research Institute for Sustainability in Potsdam, Germany, highlighted: “COP30 is anticipated to be a focal point for civil society and grassroots activism. Activists and indigenous leaders plan to use the event to amplify calls for systemic change, including an end to the commercialization of biodiversity and greater protections for ancestral lands.”

“Alternative forums, like the ‘anti-COP’ and the People’s Summit gatherings, will likely draw attention to voices often marginalized in official negotiations, further intensifying the dialogue around justice and equity.”

Jurema then highlights: “Grassroots movements and alternative forums like the Global Meeting for Climate and Life in Oaxaca [in mid-November 2024 have] sought to bridge gaps between climate action and land defense movements, concluding with a roadmap for future activism — including planned demonstrations at COP30 in Belém — aimed at turning the world’s attention to the heart of the rainforest, where the tension between development and conservation will take center stage.”

The demand for safe spaces for activists

At the conclusion of the Global Meeting for Climate and Life: ANTICOP 2024, its 250 participants agreed to a final statement that noted:

“Activism in defense of land, territory, water, and nature is dangerous, and many of our comrades face stigmatization, harassment, repression, criminalization, and even murder. Since the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement, over 1,500 environmental defenders have been killed around the world—the vast majority in Global South countries. We demand safe spaces for activists, where they can heal and protect themselves physically, emotionally, and legally. We also propose creating networks and support mechanisms for legal, communication, technological, psychological, and physical and digital security for human rights defenders, land defenders, and environmental activists in the most vulnerable territories.”

Among the activities agreed to at this Global Meeting was a “Mesoamerican Caravan for Climate and Life” to take place between October 11 and November 10 (the first day of the COP30 climate conference.

Next steps

Peace Brigades International teams are meeting this week to discuss a strategy for the COP30 climate conference with the aim of advancing the security and protection needs of the land and environmental defenders we accompany.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Further reading: How Trump’s threatened tariffs could push forward the PRGT pipeline and put at risk Indigenous land defenders (PBI-Canada, January 27, 2025)

Photo: At COP15 in Copenhagen, December 2009 and COP16 in Cancun, December 2010.