Press conference held at the Peoples’ Summit House to evaluate the Leaders’ Summit, which ended this Friday, criticizes the lack of commitment to ending fossil fuels, warns of the capture of Amazon protection mechanisms by the market, and reaffirms the struggle agenda based on six thematic axes. The articulation released a statement with its political position.
In direct counterpoint to the COP30 Leaders’ Summit, the social movements and popular organizations that make up the Peoples’ Summit held a press conference this Friday (7) to mark their position and denounce the inaction of Global North countries. The event took place at the Peoples’ Summit House in Belém (PA) and brought together representatives of the Climate Action Network (CAN International), the Movement for Popular Sovereignty in Mining (MAM), the Global Campaign for Climate Justice (DCJ), and La Vía Campesina (LVC).
The “empty truth” COP and the injustice of climate finance
The main criticism was directed at the absence of real commitments from rich nations. Jacobo Ocharan (CAN International/Mexico) highlighted the expectation that COP30 would be the “COP of Truth,” but lamented the lack of concrete action: “So far, there is little truth and a great void of commitment from the countries historically responsible for the climate crisis.”
Ocharan denounced that rich countries arrived “empty-handed, without realistic national plans (NDCs) or concrete commitments to the progressive elimination of fossil fuels.”
Unjust energy transition and environmental racism
Brazilian representative Isabely Miranda (MAM/Brazil) questioned the concept of “energy transition” promoted by governments, describing it as a mere “energy expansion” imposed from above.
The MAM activist criticized the transition model based on mineral extraction and the disparity between hemispheres. She emphasized that solutions must come from communities, calling for real accountability from corporations responsible for destruction: “Big mining companies, industries, and agribusiness need to stop killing us and killing nature.”
Reparation, not charity: the critique of climate hypocrisy
Activist Tyrone Scott (DCJ/United Kingdom/Jamaica) brought the voice of small island nations, recalling the recent Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica and denouncing debt and historical exploitation.
Scott condemned the hypocrisy of nations enriched through colonialism and slavery: “What the world needs is not charity, but justice.” He criticized market-based mechanisms and condemned governments that expand fossil fuel extraction: “This is not climate leadership. It is climate hypocrisy.”
The message was reinforced by Jyoti Fernandes (La Vía Campesina/United Kingdom/India): “Reparations, not charity.” LVC defends public climate financing, rejecting private, conditioned, and neocolonial funding models, and affirms: “We believe in life. And that is what we fight for.”
Convergence of struggles and strategic axes
Beatriz Moreira (Operational Secretariat of the Peoples’ Summit/MAB) recalled that the Summit’s process began two years ago and now brings together more than 1,100 organizations, starting in Belém in solidarity with victims of violence in Pará.
The Peoples’ Summit is organized around six strategic axes that guide its plenaries and mobilizations:
Climate Justice and Reparation.
Just, Popular, and Inclusive Transition.
Food Sovereignty.
Territorial and Forest Rights.
Internationalism and Solidarity.
Feminist and Territorial Perspectives of Peoples.
Beatriz concluded by reinforcing the autonomy and organizing power of the movements: “If there is a solution to the imbalance we live in, it lies within us — the peoples who inhabit and defend the territories.”
Next steps
The Peoples’ Summit will have an intense program starting on the 12th, focused on plenary discussions about the six strategic axes, drafting of the Peoples’ Charter, a boat action, a climate justice march, a collective banquet, and a meeting with the COP30 presidency.