Indigenous lands must be recognised as part of climate policy, says Brazilian minister | Cop30

Brazil’s minister for Indigenous peoples said countries should recognize demarcating Indigenous peoples’ lands as a key component of tackling the climate crisis and that civil society should help defend such lands against mining interests.

Sonia Guajajara, a longtime Indigenous activist before being appointed minister by President Lula da Silva, said: “[Among the goals of the Cop30 summit is] “It is a demand for countries to recognize the boundaries of Indigenous lands as climate policy.”

He believed in the discussions taking place at Cop30 between traditional communities, people of African descent, family farmers and Indigenous peoples. This, he said, “could generate recommendations for the final text of this conference.” The idea is that this will then be chosen as a theme for future Cops.

Guajajara was speaking to the Guardian before peaceful protests by Indigenous people outside the conference center in Belém briefly halted COP30 talks on Friday morning. Protesters gathered outside the entrance and peacefully blocked the delegates’ path. Entry to the conference proceeded normally after only two hours of minor disruption despite a heavy police and military presence, which forced delegates to use the side entrance.

Guajajara warned that countries must protect the rights of Indigenous people as mining companies seek to extract “critical minerals” needed to produce renewable energy and other low-carbon equipment needed to solve the climate crisis.

The Tapajós and many of the Amazon’s major rivers are polluted by mercury used in gold extraction. Moves are underway to open the Yanomami region, the largest indigenous territory in Brazil, to industrial mining. As the value of critical minerals and gold increases due to the energy transition and expansion of telecommunications, Brazil’s congress, dominated by agribusiness and mining interests, is pushing for more research.

“We are working hard here to prevent the exploitation of these lands. Our federal constitution guarantees the exclusive right to Indigenous peoples’ lands… We must speak and persuade Congress not to approve these plans,” Guajajara told the Guardian.

He also said one of the key ways the summit could benefit the Amazon and its people is through the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), which was launched in Belém last week.

The aim of the fund is to help countries with large forest areas to keep these areas alive. Most forestry financing is only available for areas already affected by deforestation, and there are no other global mechanisms to compensate countries forgoing short-term financial gains from logging, farming, or converting forests to plantations.

TFFF is one of the main outcomes Brazil hopes for from COP30, with around $5.5bn (£4.2bn) pledged to it so far. Lula hopes to use $25 billion in public funds to raise another $100 billion in financial markets.

Guajajar said it was “regrettable” that the UK had decided not to invest in the forest conservation fund it helped create.

The UK was among 10 countries that helped design the Brazilian initiative. City of London advisors created some of the first financial models, and British diplomats also championed the plan. Prince William’s Earthshot award put TFFF on the shortlist. However, shortly before its official announcement, the British government announced that it would not be among the initial investors.

“It is a pity that England does not contribute resources,” Guajajara said. “They were definitely signaling to the police that they would contribute resources.”

The incident has cooled relations between Brazil and the UK, which is regrettable because the two countries need to work closely together to achieve a positive outcome at COP30, a senior climate summit observer said.

Environment Minister Marina Silva also wrote a diplomatic note to the Guardian, saying she hoped the UK would see TFFF as a valuable investment.

Another country expected to invest in TFFF was China. He expressed his support last week and said he would attend, but did not specify the amount of his commitment.

One possible reason for its hesitation is China’s long-held position that rich, industrialized nations bear financial responsibility for combating the climate crisis because they are primarily responsible for its emergence.

Silva said that’s understandable. “For a long time, we had to struggle with developed countries to fulfill their obligations under the Paris Agreement, which has not been realized to date.” But she said TFFF was different: “Each country has its own strategy about what they think is important to not open precedents of developing countries making donations. But in the case of the TFFF, it is not a donation. It is an investment.”