While Brazil is preparing for the 30th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 30), plans for new oil drilling in the waters of the Amazon are being pushed ahead at the same time - in the middle of one of the most biodiverse areas on earth and close to indigenous territories. On the occasion of Indigenous Peoples' Day on 9 August, Misereor is calling for the expansion of oil and gas extraction in the Amazon region to be stopped - in favour of the indigenous population, environmental protection and climate action.
"The rights of indigenous peoples must be bindingly protected and strengthened in all climate negotiations - our right to have a say at COP 30 must not remain a symbolic gesture," demands indigenous Misereor partner Alessandra Korap Munduruku. Around 1.7 million indigenous people live in Brazil - many of them in the Amazon basin. Large-scale projects, agribusiness and mining are increasingly displacing them from their ancestral lands. Korap Munduruku emphasises: "It is unacceptable for Brazil to present itself internationally as the host of a climate conference while at the same time serving economic interests at the expense of indigenous communities and the rainforest."
Contradiction to climate protection
The background to this is the controversial authorisation for the state oil company Petrobrás to explore for oil in the waters off the state of Amapá. Following the first rejection, Brazil's environmental authority IBAMA is once again reviewing an application from the state-owned company. At the same time, the Brazilian government is awarding 172 licences for oil and gas exploration. The media are reporting potential revenues in the billions for the federal state - one of the poorest in the country. Fossil fuel projects still raise hopes of development, but they usually come at the expense of the environment and human rights.
More say for indigenous people
Together with civil society organisations in Brazil, Misereor is campaigning for a halt to fossil fuel expansion in the Amazon region. Wörner explains: "The Brazilian Amazon region is of central importance for the protection of the rainforest and the global climate. The decisions made there have a global impact." Wörner therefore sees the upcoming World Climate Conference as an important opportunity: "COP 30 can be a turning point - if the voices of the indigenous people are really listened to."
Misereor is currently supporting around 170 projects in Brazil with around 10 million euros. For decades, Misereor has been supporting indigenous organisations in land rights, legal protection and the fight against environmental crimes such as illegal deforestation and river pollution. Misereor will be present in Belém for COP 30 together with civil society partners.
