The Voice from the Stands: People’s Summit prepares collective letter to be delivered to the COP president during the event
Maureen Santos, from FASE The People’s Summit for Climate Justice will conclude its program on November 16 in Belém, after five days, with the delivery of a final declaration to the COP30 president, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, and other authorities. The document will mark the end of the gathering, which will have been shaped by debates, marches, and plenaries with the participation of social movements, national and international organizations, and traditional communities. The event will begin on the 12th with a boat parade on the Guamá River, ending at the campus of the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), the territory of the People’s Summit. More than 20,000 people are expected to take part in activities combining cultural celebration and political mobilization. It is expected that the People’s Summit will become the world’s largest mobilization for social and climate justice, bringing together more than 1,100 movements.In the following days, the university will host the so-called “interlinked” activities, including workshops, dialogue circles, people’s tribunals, and assemblies. These are organized around six axes of convergence, built over two years of plenaries. Among the expected themes are land, territory, and “sea-territory”; food and people’s sovereignty; a just, popular, and inclusive transition; climate and environmental justice; solidarity and internationalism; democratization and strengthening of social participation; grassroots solutions against environmental racism, commodification, and financialization of life; the leadership of women and urban peripheries; the right to the city; and a new multilateralism, among many other causes. On Saturday, November 15, a march of peoples from around the world is planned through the streets of Belém, with the participation of Indigenous, quilombola, and traditional community leaders, unions, and urban and rural social movements, along with representatives from various countries. All will march for rights, equity, climate justice, the defense of the democratic rule of law, and for a dignified future on a healthy planet. After so many activities, the People’s Summit will end with a final declaration developed throughout the synthesis plenaries. The closing will include a great Amazonian banquet with foods from the region and from other Brazilian biomes—an occasion designed to celebrate healthy and agroecological food. The People’s Summit in Belém is expected to be the largest popular mobilization for social and climate justice in the world, bringing together more than 1,100 organizations and movements from Brazil and across the globe. The gathering seeks to establish itself as a counterpoint to false solutions and to the silencing of popular voices in the face of the far right and corporate capture of multilateral negotiation spaces. Maureen Santos is a member of the Political Committee of the People’s Summit *Article originally published in the COP Hub / Climate Observatory
Bruna Balbi (Terra de Direitos) – What Lies Behind the Soaring Accommodation Prices for COP 30?
What Lies Behind the Soaring Accommodation Prices for COP 30? The COP 30 accommodation crisis exposes the negligence of the State and the persistence of a colonial gaze over the Amazon Bruna Balbi August 8, 2025 When Belém (Pará) was chosen to host the world’s largest climate gathering, COP 30, Brazil signaled to the world that the Amazon is not an exotic forest to be exploited but a political protagonist of our time. And this was the right choice. The Amazon is not a backstage: it is the stage. It is here that the planet’s climate future will be decided. Still, sectors of the government, media, business, and international diplomacy continue to view the region through the same old colonizing lens. In recent weeks, arguments such as “the city cannot host COP” or “basic conditions to receive global leaders are lacking” have intensified. What these criticisms omit is any real concern for ensuring the participation of local people and the peoples of the region. The narrative that seeks to disqualify the city as host of COP 30 is symptomatic of an updated colonialism, one that attempts to shift the center of the climate debate back to the country’s hegemonic poles—such as the Rio-São Paulo-Brasília axis—where political and economic elites feel more comfortable. It is in this context that the controversy over soaring accommodation prices in Belém and surrounding municipalities emerges, already reported by national and international outlets. And with it, a veiled attempt to suggest that the city is not fit to host the event. This is where the debate must be reframed. What lies behind the explosion in prices is not some supposed inability of Belém or the people of Pará to host the world. Belém, in fact, has already hosted major international events such as the World Social Forum, marked by strong popular participation and robust international articulation. What the criticisms actually reveal is the persistent prejudice against the Amazon as a legitimate place for political organization—and the negligence of the State, which, in the face of speculation, chose not to act. Amazon: Yesterday and Today The external gaze upon the Amazon shifts according to the intent to control, use, or exploit its territories. When Amazonian peoples resist occupation, they are branded as savages—and the forest, demonized. When there is interest in advancing over their lands, it becomes a demographic void, as with the construction of the BR-163 highway. And when the aim is to exploit it economically, environmentalist discourses emerge that, under the pretext of conservation, attempt to monetize the forest while displacing its true guardians. This is what is happening now with the strong push for carbon markets. “Lungs of the world. Green hell. Biodiversity reservoir. Heritage of humanity. No man’s land. Storehouse of natural resources.” The list is long—and could continue with the many labels that have already been imposed on the Amazon. But it is always worth remembering: when we speak of the Amazon, we are referring to a region spanning over 6 million square kilometers, crossing nine South American countries, and encompassing nine Brazilian states alone. This is no small matter. More than half of Brazil’s territory is Amazon. It bears repeating because there is a striking gap between discourse and reality—similar to what is seen in world maps, which distort proportions and shrink entire continents. Africa and South America often appear diminished in traditional cartographic representations, especially when compared to the countries that colonized them. Even Brazil—one of the largest countries in the world—is often represented as smaller than nations of the Global North. Within this same imaginary framework, the Amazon occupies an even more marginal place: a colony within a colony, historically exploited even by its own national peers. The yardstick of the Global North shrinks the South—but neither truly sees the world’s largest tropical forest for what it is. This misunderstanding is not only discursive—it is material. Today, the Amazon is exploited for soy production destined for European and Asian markets, reliant on heavy pesticide use. It is flooded by reservoirs for hydropower generation feeding industry and mining. We have poisoned forests, collapsing biodiversity, disrupted rainfall patterns, and rising fires. Rivers are replaced by waterways and ports to transport commodities. A survey by Terra de Direitos highlighted the accelerated growth of port installations in the Tapajós region—mainly after the enactment of the Ports Law (Law nº 12.815) in 2013—marked by irregularities in licensing processes. In just ten years, the number of ports in the Tapajós doubled. What is at stake in the criticism of Belém hosting COP is the brutal contradiction of a climate conference being held at the very epicenter of the socio-environmental impacts that sustain the lifestyle of those organizing it. Belém, a Gateway to the Amazon Belém is one of the main entry points to the Amazon. Located where the forest meets the ocean, the city bears deep marks of its colonial origins. These can be seen in its old mansions, baroque churches, and even in the local dialect—but also in its absences: precarious sanitation and persistent urban inequalities. The city’s structural vulnerabilities, as visible as they are exploited by media coverage, did not appear by chance. They are the result of centuries of exploitation that concentrated wealth in the hands of a few and relegated the majority to the margins. Urban Amazonia—Belém included—was also shaped by this model that separates nature from humanity and turns everything into a commodity. Today, the cost is paid in the form of inequality, exclusion, and climate crisis. And it is felt primarily by those whom the State continues to deny rights: Black communities, Indigenous peoples, and traditional populations. So, after all, what lies behind the soaring accommodation prices? More than private opportunism, it is public negligence. Speculation thrives because the State Government of Pará—legally and politically obliged to act—chose to stand by as a spectator. Responsibility Has a Name and an Address Brazil’s Consumer Defense Code is clear: raising prices without just cause is an abusive practice. The Federal
Bruno Prada (ANA Agroecologia) – Under Brazil’s presidency, transformation of food systems enters COP30 Action Agenda
Aug. 7, 2025 at 12:22 p.m. Updated Aug. 15, 2025 at 12:40 p.m. Under Brazil’s presidency, transformation of food systems enters COP30 Action Agenda UN gives more signals that family farming and agroecology are emerging as concrete pathways in the face of the climate and food crises Transforming agriculture and food systems is one of the six pillars of the COP30 Global Climate Action Agenda. In a report published this week by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which highlights Brazil’s removal from the Hunger Map, one of the key recommendations to avoid escalating food inflation is to invest in resilient agrifood systems—that is, systems with greater capacity to recover from natural disasters, climate change, and economic crises. Can we conclude that the United Nations (UN) is increasingly signaling that family farming and agroecology are establishing themselves as concrete pathways to confront the climate and food crises? To understand the challenges and opportunities for family farming and agroecology at COP30, we spoke with Bruno Prado, PhD candidate in Social Sciences at the Graduate Program in Social Sciences on Development, Agriculture, and Society at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (CPDA/UFRRJ). He is also a project coordinator at AS-PTA Family Farming and Agroecology, and a member of the Climate Justice Working Group (WG) of the Brazilian National Agroecology Alliance (ANA). Prado attended the preparatory meeting for COP30, held in Bonn, Germany, at the end of June. He notes that, for the first time, the proposal to transform food systems has been included as a pillar of the COP Action Agenda, a set of initiatives proposed by the presidency of each COP to foster decisions and support formal negotiations among Parties. “The Action Agenda is voluntarily adopted by different actors at the COP and serves to drive ambitious decisions and strengthen their implementation. But unlike the formal negotiation process, whose topics are decided multilaterally, it is the Presidency of each Conference of the Parties that defines its Action Agenda,” he explains. “Agroecology has not yet been explicitly mentioned, but the role of family farming in the climate agenda is growing. The entry point into this debate is through food systems,” Prado adds. “The Action Agenda helps guide the directions of formal negotiations. While country negotiators are discussing climate finance and other major issues, the fact that this topic was proposed by the Brazilian presidency creates opportunities to influence the COP’s outcomes.” In the interview, Bruno Prado discusses these and other points, such as the crucial role of family farming in climate negotiations, the UN’s treatment of family farming, and the sector’s main challenges at this COP. Agroecology and Democracy: What role has family farming played in COP debates? Bruno Prado: Family farming (FF) has historically played a peripheral role in the climate debate. However, there are growing demands from civil society organizations and social movements to change this position, securing a more strategic role in COP discussions. Some spaces created by civil society are key in this effort: in early June, for instance, ANA [National Agroecology Alliance] took part in the Family Farming pre-COP in Brasília, convened by the World Rural Forum. At the People’s Summit—a space built by social movements and civil society that will take place parallel to COP30—agroecology and food sovereignty will be central themes. All this has contributed to increasing recognition and efforts to overcome the marginal role of FF in formal climate governance. How does the UN treat family farming? The UN recognizes the essential role of family farming in food security, hunger eradication, climate resilience, and the sustainability of food systems. FAO launched an important initiative: the United Nations Decade of Family Farming (2019–2028), with a global action plan that includes promoting public policies, gender equity, access to finance, and the promotion of climate-resilient food systems. This plan also highlights the inequalities that family farming faces: limited climate finance, gender inequalities, among others. Family farming produces more than 80% of the world’s food, yet climate finance still neglects this sector. According to FAO, women own only 15% of agricultural land but are responsible for over 50% of agricultural labor. These figures are significant because they show that vulnerable groups are the first to be hit by climate disasters. At the same time, there are strong pressures from “food empires” within UN spaces, meaning there is no homogeneous position on family farming within the UN. In the preparatory document for COP30 resulting from the Bonn meeting and consolidated in the Action Agenda, were there mentions of family farming or agroecology? Bonn reflected the trend I mentioned earlier. We can say that family farming and agroecology are increasingly appearing and seeking greater visibility. On the topic of adaptation, for example, family farming is highlighted as a way to strengthen sustainable food systems based on agroecological models and to expand access to healthy foods. On mitigation, agroecology plays a more marginal role, but it remains important in critiquing the replacement of meat with alternative proteins and ultra-processed foods. Still, the COP30 Action Agenda, presented by the Brazilian presidency, included “transformation of food systems” as one of its pillars. Social movements and civil society organizations had explicitly demanded the inclusion of agroecology in the COP30 Action Agenda, particularly in debates with the COP Presidency during the Bonn meeting. Which points regarding family farming and agribusiness are likely to stand out at this COP? First, the inclusion of FF and agroecology in national climate plans, particularly through their effective incorporation into Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which are commitments by each Party to keep global warming below 1.5°C, as well as in climate adaptation and mitigation plans. This is especially important at this COP because, for the first time, each country must submit revised NDCs. Brazil, notably, is placing part of its Climate Plan into public consultation this August. Another priority is creating climate finance mechanisms for family farming. Agroecology is a structuring practice for climate mitigation and adaptation, as it values the sustainable management of nature’s