COP30 takes steps in the right direction but requires more ambitious commitments to deliver a just energy transition

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Belém, Brazil (Nov. 21, 2025) — As climate negotiations wrap up at COP30, Stand.earth welcomes the recognition of the rights of Indigenous Peoples – especially those in voluntary isolation and initial contact – as an essential pillar of climate action, but calls on global leaders to commit more decisively to transition away from fossil fuels. 

Advancing Indigenous Peoples’ rights: a key milestone 

As the first UN Climate Change Conference to be held in the Amazon region, this COP marked the highest Indigenous participation ever recorded. This milestone was crucial to advancing Indigenous Peoples’ rights as a non-negotiable pillar of a just energy transition and underscored the importance of securing their full and effective participation in all decision-making spaces. 

The Conference also marked progress in the regularization of Indigenous territories in Brazil. While Stand commends this achievement, it also reiterates that it is essential to accelerate demarcation processes at the regional level, both as a guarantee of Indigenous Peoples’ rights and as an effective climate policy measure.

Through providing institutional recognition of the right to Indigenous lands and the definition of territorial boundaries, demarcation is indispensable to curb deforestation, preserve biodiversity, and safeguard the planet’s climate balance. Each territory recognized represents a decisive step toward mitigating the climate crisis — and it is essential that political ambition rises to match the scale of the threats the rainforest and its peoples face.

Remaining challenges: roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels and climate finance

Fossil fuels remain the elephant in the room in climate negotiations. After strong opposition from oil-producing countries, the fossil fuel phase-out roadmap, proposed in the Global Mutirão by the Brazilian government, was removed from the COP30 final text. A just transition is incompatible with the continued expansion of fossil fuels, which are the main driver of climate change.

Stand celebrates Colombia’s leadership, as the country declared the Amazon an exclusion zone for extractivism and announced it will host an international conference on fossil fuel phase-out next year, as well as Brazil’s commitment to continue discussions on the roadmap throughout its COP presidency. Stand also calls for ensuring the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples in these processes, as well as the incorporation of the full respect of Indigenous rights such self-determination; Free, Prior and Informed Consent; and safeguards for peoples in voluntary isolation or initial contact.

In the field of climate financing, COP30 has advanced dialogues aimed at ensuring direct access to resources for Indigenous Peoples. However, it is crucial that their contributions are not only recognized in rhetoric, but also translated into direct allocation of funding, ensuring the continuation of Indigenous Peoples’ work in protecting vital ecosystems and safeguarding the future of humanity.

Gisela Hurtado, senior Amazonia campaigner at Stand, said:

“The recognition of Indigenous Peoples rights – especially those in voluntary isolation and initial contact – including their right to self-determination, is an important victory of this COP, held for the first time in the Amazon, home to most of the world’s isolated peoples. We welcome the COP30 Presidency’s leadership in proposing a fossil fuel phase-out roadmap. 

But let’s be clear: COP30 fell short of delivering the historic decision the world urgently needed. A just transition won’t be possible with the expansion of fossil fuel extraction, nor can it ignore the social, environmental, and human rights risks of the mining boom that is already impacting Indigenous territories. A truly just transition must keep fossil fuels in the ground, protect Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and initial contact through exclusion zones, and uphold Indigenous self-determination as a non-negotiable pillar for climate action.”

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