Indigenous Voices at UN Climate Summit Face Challenges Despite Promised Spotlight

Indigenous representatives gathered at the United Nations climate talks in Belem, Brazil, found themselves improvising during a power outage at their kickoff event—a fitting metaphor for the challenges they face in making their voices heard at the global conference billed as “the Indigenous peoples COP.”

Participants from around the world continued their ceremonies through song, dance, and prayer despite the blackout, cooling themselves with improvised fans made of paper or leaves. Yet the incident underscored growing skepticism about whether this year’s summit will deliver on promises to center Indigenous perspectives.

“We’re working within a mechanism and we’re working within an institution that we know wasn’t built for us,” said Thalia Yarina Cachimuel, a Kichwa-Otavalo member of A Wisdom Keepers Delegation. “We have to work 10 times harder to ensure that our voices are a part of the space.”

The conference, formally known as COP30, runs through November 21 and has been framed by organizers as the “implementation COP,” focused on executing past promises rather than creating ambitious new deals. Brazil’s decision to host the summit in Belem, a city on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, was partly intended as an homage to Indigenous groups who have mastered sustainable living in Earth’s most biodiverse regions.

Indigenous peoples safeguard much of the world’s biodiversity while contributing minimally to climate change, yet they bear disproportionate harm from its effects. Despite this reality, they have historically been excluded from meaningful participation in climate negotiations unless individual members are included in a country’s delegation.

Brazil has made efforts to include Indigenous representatives in its delegation and encourages other nations to do the same, though it remains unclear how many countries have followed suit in Belem.

Edson Krenak, of Brazil’s Krenak people and manager for Indigenous rights group Cultural Survival, expressed disappointment at lower-than-expected Indigenous participation. He cited Belem’s limited accommodations as a barrier, noting the small city struggled to quickly expand lodging options for the conference.

“We want to design these policies, we want to be involved in really dreaming solutions,” Krenak said, highlighting the frustration felt when Indigenous communities are expected to comply with policies they had no role in developing.

Logistical challenges extended beyond accommodations. At the Indigenous People’s Pavilion opening, presenters not only lacked power but also worked without an official translator. Wis-waa-cha, representing Coast Salish and Nuu-Chah-Nulth lands, noted that such oversights make Indigenous participants feel “continually dismissed through very passive ways.”

Cachimuel expressed concern that inclusion efforts may not continue at future climate conferences. She pointed to a significant gap between visible representation and meaningful inclusion in negotiations, noting, “Who gets to go to the high-level climate dialogues, who are the people that are meeting with states and governments?”

Despite these challenges, the Amazon location has symbolic significance. “It makes Indigenous peoples the host,” said Alana Manchineri of COIAB, an organization representing Indigenous people of the Amazon basin.

Lucas Che Ical, representing Guatemala’s Ak’Tenamit organization, emphasized the need for direct financing to affected communities. While acknowledging that past COP agreements have rarely translated to positive impacts for Indigenous peoples, he remains optimistic about this year’s outcome.

“I hope that decision makers at this COP can listen to the voices of Indigenous villages, local communities and all the villages of the world, where they live in poverty and who are part of the impacts of climate change,” Che Ical said.

As the conference continues, the question remains whether this symbolic recognition will translate into substantive inclusion in the decisions that will shape global climate policy for years to come.