In a historic achievement, Afro-Descendants and Indigenous Peoples’ prior consultation are included for the first time in the UN Climate Conference
The recognition was included in the text on just energy transition, but also in other key texts of COP30, alongside the defense of Indigenous territorial rights
By Jullie Pereira
Translated by Diego Lopes/Verso Tradutores
For the first time since the start of the United Nations Climate Change Conferences (COPs), Afro-descendant populations are included in the Just Energy Transition Program, approved this Saturday (22). The document also mentions territorial rights, prior, free, and informed consultation, as well as recognizing isolated Indigenous Peoples.
“This was a great victory regarding the transition text. A just transition means considering the most vulnerable populations. Tying this together from the moment it was approved is important because we will continue debating and reach other decisions at future COPs, already based on this premise, which is the right premise,” says Ciro Brito, Climate Policy Analyst at the Socio-Environmental Institute (ISA).
The COP30 text advocates for “broad and meaningful participation involving all relevant stakeholders, including workers affected by transitions, informal workers, people in vulnerable situations, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, migrants and internally displaced persons, people of African descent, women, children, youth, elderly people and people with disabilities, to enable effective, inclusive and participatory just transition pathways”.
Tatiana Oliveira, international strategy leader at WWF-Brazil, says that COP30 was a historic moment, a watershed moment. She demonstrates the emotion that civil society felt in celebrating the recognition of the populations most affected by climate change in the conference text.
“I think it’s impossible not to be moved by everything that has happened in the last two weeks, regardless of the formal outcome of the negotiations. Many of the victories that really matter, such as the inclusion of Afro-descendants in the text and the mention of the territorial rights of Indigenous Peoples and the FPIC [free, prior, and informed consultation], are historic steps that help guarantee rights,” she says.
Questions and requests
In the plenary session, after the approval amidst applause, several countries expressed their opinions on all the COP30 texts, including the one on energy transition. Canada mentioned that the concepts of Indigenous Peoples and local communities must respect the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a document with guidelines for the dignity of Indigenous Peoples.
Brito explains that it wasn’t opposition, but a request from the country to be included in the report. According to him, the concept of local communities is still under construction in the discussions of the Climate Conference. In Brazil, extractive and riverside populations are considered local communities, for example. This need to define the concept is a reason for questioning by countries that still exploit fossil fuels in these locations, which is the case of Canada.
“There is no legislation that defines what local communities are, and this leaves room for various interpretations. From now on, we will see more discussions about what local communities are, and perhaps we will have a scenario where this is better defined in the next COPs as well, “ he says.
Mention of people of African descent and prior consultation
In UN climate events, Afro-descendant populations had already been included in the preliminary discussions in June, during the Bonn Conference on Climate Change, and now, for the first time, they are contemplated in the final document of COP30. They had also been included in the final texts of the COP on Biodiversity, in Cali, Colombia, in November 2024.
This is also the first time that the just transition text mentions free, prior, and informed consultation for Indigenous Peoples and, especially, mentions isolated Peoples. In this case, the inclusion only occurred now, in Belém, on November 14th.
The text states that it is the right of Indigenous Peoples to obtain their free, prior, and informed consent, in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Furthermore, it stipulates that a just transition must respect and promote “the internationally recognized collective and individual rights of Indigenous Peoples, including the right to self-determination, and recognize the rights and protections of Indigenous Peoples in voluntary isolation and in initial contact , in accordance with relevant international human rights instruments and principles.”
We missed the chance
On the other hand, the final text on just energy transition removed the mention of the impacts of mining on the low-carbon economy that countries need to implement. Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendant populations were especially concerned about this point, because their territories are constantly threatened by the concentration of many minerals considered strategic. Without reference to the damage caused by mineral exploration, the assessment is that these communities become even more vulnerable.
“If we had maintained mining, it would have been a brilliant move. Because today, in Brazil, for example, a large part of the so-called critical minerals are located within Indigenous territories. It is crucial to think about a just energy transition that addresses the issue of mining. There is no way to have a just transition without knowing what to do about it,” says Ciro Brito, from ISA.
In the first draft of the Belém proposals, published on November 14th, the text included the risk associated with the exploitation of critical minerals. This is because the trend is for countries that are still dependent on fossil fuels to shift their economies towards mining, which could harm traditional peoples and territories.
In the November 18th version, mining was still considered a problem, and it highlighted “the social and environmental risks associated with expanding supply chains for clean energy technologies, including the risks arising from the unsustainable extraction and processing of critical minerals.”
But in the new version released this Friday, the paragraph changed once again, removing the section on the impacts of mining: “the importance of strengthening international cooperation to mobilize financing, technology and capacity building support in order to facilitate the implementation of nationally determined just transitions in a socially inclusive and equitable manner.” Ultimately, mining was left out even in Saturday’s decision.
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This report was produced by InfoAmazonia, through the Collaborative Socio-environmental Coverage of COP 30. Read the original report at: https://infoamazonia.org/2025/11/22/conquista-historica-afrodescendentes-consulta-previa-indigena-conferencia-clima-onu
