5th Summit of Presidents of the Amazon strengthens Indigenous participation in ACTO but fails to address fossil fuel transition

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Bogotá, Colombia (August 22nd, 2025) – At the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) Summit, which today brought together presidents and authorities from Amazonian countries, civil society organizations welcomed the creation of the Amazonian Indigenous Peoples Mechanism (MAPI), but denounced the absence of references to fossil fuels. Although the final text proposes to “advance toward a just, orderly, and equitable energy transition,” it fails to provide a concrete implementation plan or recognize the urgency of moving away from fossil fuels.

 

Persistent challenges

In contrast with the scientific and legal consensus on the urgency of halting fossil fuel expansion—including recent decisions from international courts such as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice—authorities failed to make any mention of the issue. Despite efforts by the Colombian government, which at the previous Summit announced the suspension of new contracts for oil, gas, and coal exploration, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Peru opposed the fossil fuel transition. Brazil, which claims climate leadership on the international stage while contradictorily pushing to expand the oil frontier in the Amazon on the eve of COP30, has not explicitly opposed the transition, avoiding formal blockages, but at the same time failed to exercise leadership or exert real pressure for the progressive phase-out of fossil fuels.

Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin, parliamentarians, and civil society have consistently reiterated the need to end oil and gas expansion, particularly in areas of high biodiversity, and to establish exclusion zones for extractive activities in order to protect critical ecosystems for the planet—starting with the Amazon.

The ACTO Summit was a crucial moment to announce concrete measures for the Paris Agreement and served as a strategic platform to align regional priorities on the road to COP30. Yet, we continue to witness with concern the opening of new oil and gas exploration fronts in several countries across the region, which threatens Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ rights, as well as global climate goals. The responsibility and the opportunity for action now fall largely on Brazil, and the pressure must be collective, led by civil society and Indigenous Peoples, to ensure that COP30 delivers concrete advances toward the progressive phase-out of fossil fuels.

 

Progress

The MAPI establishes a co-governance structure in which each member country will be represented by one government delegate and one Indigenous delegate. This will ensure respect for the right to self-determination and the exercise of Indigenous governance, recognizing their contribution to biodiversity protection and the fight against climate change.

 

Experts from civil society and Amazonian Indigenous representatives offered the following quotes: 

Toya Manchineri – General Coordinator of the Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB)

“It is regrettable that the Amazon was omitted as a fossil fuel-free zone in the OTCA Summit declaration. This was a historic opportunity wasted by the presidents. Fossil fuels are the main villains of the global climate crisis, and the Amazon, already under critical threat, cannot be treated as just another frontier for predatory projects that violate indigenous territories, accelerate deforestation, and endanger the planet’s future. Our territories are essential and proven to be the most effective barriers against the climate crisis, acting as vital carbon sinks for climate balance. Protecting the Amazon is not an ideological issue; it is a scientific and humanitarian emergency. The exclusion of this crucial point from the Bogotá Charter is an omission and a step backward in addressing the global climate crisis.”

Diana Chávez, International Cooperation Leader of the Kichwa Nationality of Pastaza – PAKKIRU (Ecuador) and member of the Assembly for a Fossil Fuel-Free Amazon

“More than 50 organizations demanded in Bogotá to declare the Amazon free from fossil fuels, but the final declaration ignores this demand and omits oil and gas, the main threats to the forest and our rights. In Ecuador, the people voted ‘Yes’ to leaving crude in Yasuní, but the government does not comply and expansion continues, an inconsistency repeated across the region. The Amazon will not be saved just by halting deforestation: at COP30, states must assume clear commitments to end fossil fuels.

Juan Bay, President of the Waorani Nationality of Ecuador

“The Amazonian presidents are not listening to the voices of the indigenous peoples who have protected the forest since ancestral times. They ignore that we are living a climate crisis. The Waorani people took a very important step by deciding to leave the oil underground in Yasuní: we set a global milestone. But the Ecuadorian State does not comply, and this non-compliance reflects the lack of political will of the leaders to overcome fossil fuel dependence, as shown today in the Bogotá Declaration at OTCA.”

Gisela Hurtado, Senior Amazonia Campaigner, Stand.earth:

“The approval of the Amazonian Indigenous Peoples Mechanism, the co-governance body, represents a crucial step forward in overcoming the historic absence of full and effective representation and participation of Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin in ACTO structures. However, the authorities of the region missed the opportunity to lead their own energy transitions. Despite Colombia’s efforts, there remains a lack of political will to break with the colonial logic of extractivism. It is up to Brazil, which will host COP30 in November, to take responsibility for presenting more ambitious proposals for the progressive phase-out of fossil fuels and for the creation of exclusion zones for extractive activities, in alignment with the unified demand of Indigenous Peoples and civil society, presented during the Presidential Summit. The future of the forest, its peoples, and the planet depends on the decisions we make now.”

Alex Rafalowicz, Executive Director of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty:

“The Amazonian presidents missed the opportunity to recognize that oil and gas extraction is one of the greatest threats to the Amazon. Science, Indigenous Peoples, and international law agree on two essential requirements to save the region: acknowledge the real danger of fossil fuels and cooperate among states. More than 50 organizations demanded to declare it fossil-free; responding to that call would have been a true act of global leadership. COP30 in Belém must correct this omission and pave the way for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, a tool that could facilitate cooperation toward a just transition that protects the Amazon and the world.”

Carolina Marçal – Project Coordinator, Instituto ClimaInfo:

“Although the ACTO Summit brought important advances for Amazon conservation and Indigenous Peoples’ participation mechanisms, it failed to commit to ending fossil fuels in the biome. The conference was seen as a strategic platform to align regional priorities ahead of COP30; in this sense, the Amazon was expected to be declared an exclusion zone for oil and gas exploration and production, as a first step in the global effort to gradually eliminate fossil fuels. We urgently need a global agreement to eliminate fossil fuels, and our region is fully capable of leading a just energy transition. Now countries must definitively commit at COP30 to phasing out fossil fuels.”

Ilan Zugman, Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, 350.org:

“It is disappointing that, despite scientific and legal consensus, the Amazonian presidents have ignored the urgency of keeping the biome free from oil and gas. Measures against deforestation are important, but insufficient. Without addressing fossil fuels, there is no future for the forest or for the global climate. COP30 can and should send clear signals for governments to correct this omission and make commitments aligned with science. This will be an opportunity for countries to review their positions and move toward concrete commitments to end the fossil era, advancing a just energy transition.”

Juliana Peña Niño, Program Manager Colombia, Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI):

“The recent OTCA summit revealed a gap: Amazonian communities were not sufficiently heard in decision-making. Yet they are the ones living daily with the consequences of oil dependence. In Putumayo, in the heart of the Colombian Amazon, production has already fallen nearly by half over the past decade, and the world will demand less crude after 2030. Clinging to fossil fuels will only bring more vulnerability and poverty. A just energy transition, built with communities at the center, is the only way to ensure a sustainable future for the Amazon and its economies. Economic responsibility does not rest solely with Amazonian countries: it must be assumed collectively. This is not an option; it is an urgency.”

Sila Mesquita – Rede GTA de Trabalho Amazônico:

“We at the GTA Amazonian Work Network believe that only an Amazon free from oil and fossil fuel-extracting companies can guarantee climate justice and a true energy transition. Halting the activity of these companies is the only way to ensure the sovereignty of indigenous and traditional peoples. The predatory actions of these companies, which invade territories without consulting local populations, cause irreversible harm: they contaminate rivers and forests, destroy livelihoods, increase violence against communities, and compromise the future of the Amazon and the planet.”

Osver Polo, CAN Latin America:

“In the framework of this 5th Summit, the demand to phase out fossil fuels has become more visible and stronger, driven mainly by Indigenous organizations and parliamentarians, who delivered a clear message of struggle toward COP30. Colombia has led this agenda in the debate, and what happens in the meeting with Lula, who promotes fossil fuel exploration, will be decisive. However, the creation of MAPI represents a great opportunity: a space where pressure for a just transition can continue, with the accompaniment and leadership of Indigenous peoples.”

Karla Maass Wolfenson, Climate Action Network Latin America (CANLA) Advocacy Lead and Coordinator of the Sacred Amazon River Basins Alliance (ASHA)

“The 5th Summit of Amazonian countries reflects the complexity of multilateral coordination and governance, particularly the possibility of outlining a common vision on how to address the climate crisis. For many, this was a key opportunity to send a signal to the world and bring support to the peoples regarding the transition to decarbonized economies, where fossil fuels have no place .Brazil, in its role as host of COP30, has a key role to play and cannot be timid or lukewarm regarding the energy transition, recognizing its regional and global role. Hiding behind the responsibilities of the global north is unacceptable”

João Pedro Galvão Ramalho – Coletivo Pororoka. Member of the International Committee of the Pan-Amazonian Social Forum (FOSPA):

“The 5th Amazon Summit of Presidents once again showed that it is the Amazonian peoples who put forward the boldest proposals in the face of the climate crisis. From our territories, we affirm that the way forward is not more extractivism, but rather strengthening ways of life and ancestral knowledge to build an Amazon free from fossil and mineral extractivism.”

Ignacio Arróniz Velasco, Senior Advisor at Earth Insight:

“Despite Colombia’s efforts, several of its neighbors continue to refuse to see reality: oil extraction in the Amazon has no future. By doing so, they risk their oil industries soon collapsing under their own weight, unable to compete internationally. In contrast, a bold energy transition in the region would protect the entire biome from collapse and secure key resources such as clean water and air for its citizens. Colombia must continue to lead with efforts at home, permanently retiring its oil blocks in the Amazon before 2026.”

 

Press contacts: 

Bogotá / Lima time:
Lays Ushirobira (Stand.earth), lays.ushirobira@stand.earth / +34 685 20 05 91

Brasília / Buenos Aires time:
Mariana Abdalla (350.org), mariana.abdalla@350.org / + 55 21 99823 5563
Danae Alexia Tzicas (GGON), danae@ggon.org / +54 911 3380 2441

Central European time:
Viviana Varin (Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty), viviana@fossilfueltreaty.org / +33 6 63 48 52 67