Today, Human Rights Watch sent a letter to André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) President-designate, and Executive Director Ana Toni, outlining priorities Brazil could champion in the lead-up to and during COP30, which will be hosted in Belém in November 2025.
COP30, the UN’s annual climate conference, arrives at a critical moment. Marking the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, the conference takes place amid an alarming acceleration of the climate crisis. 2024 was the warmest on record and yet COP29, hosted in Azerbaijan, failed to make progress on limiting global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. This makes COP30 a vital opportunity for climate action, and Brazil is in a unique position to realize ambitious outcomes.
In the letter, Human Rights Watch called on the COP30 Presidency to prioritize the phaseout of fossil fuels. Despite COP28’s historic commitment to transition away from fossil fuels, no significant progress was made at COP29. COP30 should move forward with implementing this commitment by incorporating the phaseout of fossil fuels in the agenda of the negotiations. In addition, we urged Brazil to agree principles for a just transition that is rooted in international human rights law, including in particular economic, social, and cultural rights, and the right to development.
On forests, we emphasized the importance of advancing land rights and the full participation of Indigenous peoples and local communities, particularly around decisions made in the context of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility , a new initiative that could play a key role in tackling tropical deforestation.
We also urged Brazil to protect civic space around COP30, to ensure that civil society, activists, and Indigenous peoples can meaningfully engage in the negotiations, by making the upcoming Host Country Agreement public and aligning it with international human rights law. This includes explicit human rights safeguards and protections for freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.
As host of COP30, Brazil has the opportunity to re-center multilateralism and ensure that the global response to climate change is anchored in human rights. By prioritizing the phaseout of fossil fuels, land rights and forest protection, and inclusive civic space, Brazil can help steer the negotiations toward outcomes that match the scale of the climate crisis.