Ahead of the summit of presidents of the Amazon, experts, parliamentarians, and Indigenous leaders call for urgent action to stop fossil fuel expansion in the region

August 14, 2025

Bogotá, Colombia (August 14th, 2025) – As authorities of eight Amazonian countries prepare to meet next week, on August 22nd, in the 5th Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) Summit, key voices from across the region came together today in a press conference to discuss the political and economic factors shaping the future of the Amazon. The event brought together perspectives from parliamentarians, scientists, civil society organizations, and Indigenous Peoples—all united in an urgent call to transition away from fossil fuels, the leading driver of greenhouse gas emissions and major contributor to the climate crisis.

The discussion focused on the true social, environmental and economic costs of fossil fuel expansion in the Amazon, and the need for clear regulatory frameworks to enable a just energy transition. The strategic role of ACTO was also highlighted, along with its potential to unify Amazonian countries around common challenges — particularly in the lead-up to the UN Conference on Climate Change (COP30), which will take place in November in Belém, Brazil.

The panelists offered the following quotes:

Andrés Cancimance, Colombian parliamentarian and member of the Parliamentarians for a Fossil-Free Future, said:

“It’s no secret that there is strong tension around the idea of phasing out fossil fuels in the Amazon because, despite Colombia’s intention, countries like Brazil do not agree. That’s why we parliamentarians sent a letter to President Petro, encouraging him to bring up the issue even though OTCA is not prioritizing it due to a lack of consensus. We must insist now in Bogotá, and later at COP30, that the phase-out of fossil fuels be a central part of these conferences. The absence of this component is extremely serious. We have a lot to do at the multilateral level, but above all at the parliamentary level, because we need to move forward with much stronger legislation and regulations. Referendums and the designation of exclusion zones are not proving effective. We urgently need laws at the level of our republics that will allow progress.”

Olivia Bisa, Indigenous leader and president of the Chapra nation from Peru, said:

“We, Chapra nation, have 97% of our biodiversity intact, which shows our governance is legitimate and serves as an example at both the national and international levels. However, the Peruvian State has been trying for years to exploit our territory. We have resisted the entry of five transnational companies, pressured our parliamentarians, and presented a bill to declare the entire Amazon untouchable—free from oil activity and all forms of extractivism. I hope that at the OTCA meeting and at COP30, leaders will commit to declaring the Amazon free of fossil fuels. The rainforest is a hope for life. If we want a future for our children, now is the time to protect it and take action.”

Paulo Artaxo, physicist of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said:

“The central issue in the climate crisis is the exploitation and use of fossil fuels, which are responsible for between 85% and 90% of global greenhouse gas emissions. If COP30 does not effectively implement policies to end the use of fossil fuels, there will be little that can be done. The second largest source of greenhouse gases is the deforestation of tropical forests, of which the Amazon is the main component. Several countries have strategies to eliminate tropical forest deforestation by 2030, a goal that we all must achieve. But there is a significant problem: the Amazon rainforest is undergoing a process of forest degradation due to global temperature increases and reduced rainfall, which is causing water stress. The forest loses carbon not only through deforestation, but fundamentally due to the use and exploitation of fossil fuels. In addition to effectively implementing the energy transition in the OTCA countries, we need to pressure the nations responsible for the majority of emissions to accelerate their energy transition, in order to achieve a fossil-free world within the next few decades.”

Paola Yanguas, policy advisor in the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), said:

“Expanding the oil frontier in the Colombian Amazon makes no sense: the economic cost of extraction and transportation is extremely high, it puts at risk carbon sinks that are essential for Colombia and the world, and the impact on local communities and ecosystems is irreversible. We would gain much more by halting exploration and planning an orderly exit from areas where production already exists.”

Notes to the editor

Watch the full recording here (access code Xckr=M8T)
Check out the media brief with background information and key facts about the ACTO Summit, and quotes from civil society organizations.
See the list of spokespeople available for interviews in the ACTO context, beyond those participating in this press conference.
Read a preview of the new report on the economic unviability of fossil fuel development in Colombia’s Amazon, by Earth Insight and IISD.