Opinion: ‘COP30 must listen to the voices that have been historically silenced’
This year’s COP30 in Brazil brings the climate change debate to the heart of the Amazon. But unless the language – and attitude – barrier is bridged, the conversation risks excluding Black, Indigenous and Latin American people, whose entrepreneurial environmental solutions can help rebuild a sustainable planet, say Adriana Barbosa and Vitoria Junqueira.
Vitoria Junqueira of Aliança Pelo Impacto and Adriana Barbosa of Preta Hub
The Conference of the Parties (COP) on climate change is the most important event in the world for decision-making about the planet’s future. However, a fundamental question arises about this year’s COP30, which will be hosted by Brazil: who is this COP for?
When we consider the inhabitants of the Amazon, the epicenter of 2025’s environmental discussions, we encounter a concerning fact – the majority of the population in this region is made up of Black, mixed-race, and Indigenous peoples, communities that have historically had less access to opportunities for active participation in global forums.
One of the greatest obstacles to participation is the language barrier. Brazil ranked last in an English proficiency index for Latin America, according to a study by the British multinational Pearson. Only two out of ten Brazilians claim to have any command of the English language, which significantly hampers access to information, financing, and the business and international cooperation opportunities offered during COP and its parallel events.
COP30 and the opportunity for a decolonial shift
COP30, scheduled to take place in November in Belém, has the potential to be a historic event by bringing the climate debate to the heart of the Amazon. However, for this conference to be truly transformative, it must adopt a decolonial perspective, recognising the Black and Indigenous populations of the region as protagonists in the climate fight. These communities not only suffer the impacts of climate change but also possess concrete solutions to mitigate these effects and regenerate ecosystems.
This should not just be a diplomatic event, but an opportunity for Brazil to show the world how Amazonian peoples – particularly Black and Indigenous communities – can influence the global climate agenda with solutions that have systemic impact. The ancestral knowledge of these populations regarding sustainable land management, agroforestry, bioeconomy and biodiversity preservation must be integrated into global decision-making, not as a peripheral narrative but as a viable model for rebuilding a sustainable planet.
Coffee, fish and agroforestry: Indigenous enterprises keeping the forest aliveHere are some organisations that are constantly working to keep the forest alive, productive, and healthy, ensuring its continuous renewal. Coopaiter: Indigenous entrepreneurship and sustainability
The Paiter Suruí Indigenous People’s Production and Development Cooperative (Coopaiter) was founded in 2017 as Brazil’s first mixed indigenous cooperative with a multi-productive approach. Comprised exclusively of indigenous members, the initiative aims to enhance the culture and natural resources of the Sete de Setembro Indigenous Land, ensuring economic and environmental sustainability for its communities. Currently, the cooperative consists of 200 members, 40% of whom are women, spread across 25 villages. Coopaiter develops sustainable production chains, including coffee, Brazil nuts, and traditional crafts, promoting the autonomy of indigenous families. Through strategic partnerships with organisations including 3 Corações, Funai and Embrapa, the cooperative invests in training its members and improving production infrastructure. The commercialisation of coffee, for instance, already secures above-market prices, directly benefiting 51 families and driving Amazon rainforest conservation.
Salgadeira Cabocla: Strengthening sustainable fishing Salgadeira Cabocla was established in 2017 to support the managed fishing of pirarucu – a giant Amazonian fish – in the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve. With backing from BNDES (the Brazilian development bank) and the Mamirauá Reserve Association (AMURM), the initiative built a processing unit in Fonte Boa, ensuring legal compliance and meeting sanitary requirements. This investment led to the valorisation of pirarucu – increasing its economic, social and environmental value – securing fairer trade conditions for the involved riverside communities. Today, Salgadeira Cabocla transforms the pirarucu fish into diverse products, including fillets and high-value by-products. By strengthening the production chain, the project enhances Amazon conservation, as it encourages the protection of lakes and local fauna. The Lab de Impacto (a pre-acceleration programme by Impact Hub Manaus aimed at developing early stage businesses in the Amazon region) was crucial in improving infrastructure, training producers, and obtaining certifications such as the Municipal Inspection Seal, expanding market access and boosting the income of riverside families.
Marajó Resiliente: Agroforestry as a Climate Strategy The Marajó Resiliente initiative, developed by Conexsus, Fundación Avina, Instituto Belterra, and the International Education Institute of Brazil (IEB), with funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), strengthens climate resilience strategies in the Marajó Archipelago. The project plans to implement 800 hectares of agroforestry systems across three territories benefiting more than 70,000 people. These agroforestry systems integrate ancestral sustainable farming practices with environmental regeneration, ensuring food security and income for smallholder farmers, quilombola communities and local populations. The project also fosters public policies for climate adaptation and facilitates credit access for small producers. As COP30 approaches, Marajó Resiliente is already demonstrating how solutions rooted in traditional knowledge can mitigate climate change impacts and drive social inclusion in the Amazon. |
Invisible exclusion: language barriers and structural inequality
COP events are not limited to official plenaries. Hundreds of panels, bilateral meetings, negotiations and side events shape guidelines that will directly influence the Amazon and its people. However, these spaces remain inaccessible to most local populations due to language barriers. The absence of simultaneous translation throughout the event, from official documents to informal meetings, creates a structural barrier that excludes Amazonian peoples from negotiations that directly impact their lives.
The Regional Community Business Ecosystems report emphasises that activating economic ecosystems in the Amazon requires the effective inclusion of these communities in value chains and strategic debates. However, this inclusion will remain superficial as long as language continues to be a factor of exclusion.
If COP30 truly seeks to transform the climate debate, it must ensure that Amazonian peoples can fully understand, engage with and influence negotiations.
Decolonising the climate debate: from communication to systemic solutions
Decolonising the climate debate cannot be a mere theoretical concept; it must permeate all aspects of COP30, from agenda formulation to the very structure of the event. This means:
- Ensuring decolonial communication, with translations into multiple languages, enabling Indigenous peoples, quilombolas and community leaders to fully participate in discussions. The Global South must not merely be listeners but solution-formulators.
- Expanding listening efforts to Latin America and the Caribbean, recognising that many solutions are already being developed in the region. The experiences of Brazilian Amazon communities need to engage in dialogue with innovations from Colombia’s Pacific region, where Afro-Indigenous communities have practised regenerative forest coexistence for decades.
- Valuing the ethnic and cultural diversity of the Amazon, understanding that there is no single answer, but rather a multiplicity of knowledge capable of generating profound and long-lasting contributions to global climate challenges.
By hosting COP30, Brazil has the chance to reposition its global influence, not only as a biodiversity-rich country but as a powerhouse of climate solutions rooted in social justice and ancestral wisdom. This conference cannot be conducted solely by traditional geopolitical frameworks; it must recognise voices which have been historically silenced and bring Black, Indigenous and Latin American peoples to the forefront of global public policy formulation.
If COP30 truly wants to generate systemic impact, it must be built with those who are already living and implementing these solutions every day. This means ensuring decision-making spaces for these populations, directly funding their initiatives, and creating permanent structures to allow their knowledge to influence the future of global climate governance.
The cost of exclusion and the need for funding
If COP is an event aimed at protecting biomes and global sustainability, it is unacceptable for those on the frontlines of preservation to be left out of the conversation. This is not just an ethical issue but also a practical one: what budget line will be allocated to ensure that all interactions, events, materials and negotiation spaces include accessible translation?
The cost of not investing in linguistic accessibility is immense. Without the active participation of Amazonian populations, COP decisions will continue to be designed by and for those who do not live the reality of the forest. This weakens the effectiveness of climate policies and perpetuates an exclusionary model of environmental governance.
Proposals for an inclusive COP
- Empower local businesses and organisations: There are already consultancies, technologies, businesses and organisations with valuable expertise. These stakeholders must be elevated to share their knowledge and insights.
- Guaranteed simultaneous translation in all spaces: Not only in official plenaries but also in side events, bilateral meetings and informal interactions.
- Multilingual materials: Documents and reports must be available in Portuguese and Indigenous languages so that communities can understand and actively contribute.
- Pre-event language training: Programmes for training community leaders in English should be funded to enable their active participation in negotiations.
- Dedicated budget line: Climate financing should include specific resources for linguistic accessibility, ensuring that COP30 is genuinely global and inclusive.
Who speaks, who decides
The Black and Indigenous Amazon is not a territory of passive resistance. It has always been an active part of the solution. The world needs to listen.
COP30 will only be transformative if it ensures that local populations are at the heart of discussions. Until all voices are heard, the question will continue to echo: who is this COP for?
Adriana Barbosa is the executive director of the collaborative economy space Preta Hub and the founder of Festival Feira Preta, one of the largest cultural and entrepreneurship events for the Black community in Latin America. Vitória Junqueira is the head of mobilisation and institutional relations at Aliança Pelo Impacto, the Brazilian Alliance for Impact Investment.
Header photo: Coffee beans produced by Coopaiter, an indigenous cooperative in Brazil
Note: Quilombolas are Afro-Brazilian communities formed by descendants of enslaved people who escaped from plantations and established autonomous settlements – called quilombos – often in remote areas. These communities have preserved distinct cultural traditions, social structures and ways of life that reflect African heritage and resistance.
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