Hundreds of people have joined an Indigenous-led protest on the second day of the UN climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belem, highlighting tensions with the Brazilian government\u2019s claim that the meeting is open to Indigenous voices.<\/p>\n
Dozens of Indigenous protesters forced their way into the 30th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) on Tuesday evening after hundreds of people participated in a march to the venue.<\/p>\n list of 4 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t eat money,\u201d said Gilmar, an Indigenous leader from the Tupinamba community near the lower reaches of the Tapajos River in Brazil, who uses only one name, referring to the emphasis on climate finance at many of the meetings during the ongoing summit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want our lands free from agribusiness, oil exploration, illegal miners and illegal loggers.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson from the UN, which is responsible for security inside the venue, said in a statement that \u201ca group of protesters breached security barriers at the main entrance to the COP, causing minor injuries to two security staff, and minor damage to the venue\u201d.<\/p>\n The protest came as Brazilian President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva has highlighted Indigenous communities as key players in this year\u2019s COP30 negotiations, even as several industries continue to further encroach on the Amazon rainforest during his presidency.<\/p>\n Lula told a leaders summit last week that participants at the COP30 would be \u201cinspired by Indigenous peoples and traditional communities \u2013 for whom sustainability has always been synonymous with their way of life\u201d.<\/p>\n However, Indigenous participants taking part in rolling protests in and around the climate change meeting say that more needs to be done, both by Lula\u2019s left-leaning government at home and around the world.<\/p>\n A joint statement ahead of the summit from Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin and all Biomes of Brazil emphasised the importance of protecting Indigenous territories in the Amazon.<\/p>\n As \u201ca carbon sink of approximately 340 million tons\u201d of carbon dioxide, the world\u2019s largest rainforest, \u201crepresents one of the most effective mitigation and adaptation strategies\u201d, the statement said.<\/p>\n The statement also called for Indigenous territories to be excluded from mining and other activities, including \u201cin particular, the Amazon, Congo, and Borneo-Mekong-Southeast Asia basins\u201d.<\/p>\n Leo Cerda, one of the organisers of the Yaku Mama protest flotilla, which arrived at the summit after sailing 3,000km (1,864 miles) down the Amazon river, told Al Jazeera that Indigenous peoples are trying to secure nature not just for themselves but for humanity.<\/p>\n \u201cMost states want our resources, but they don\u2019t want to guarantee the rights of Indigenous peoples,\u201d Cerda said.<\/p>\n As the flotilla sailed towards COP30, Brazil\u2019s state-run oil company, Petrobras, received a licence to begin exploratory offshore oil drilling near the mouth of the Amazon River.<\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot make climate policies without indigenous people at the negotiation table.\u201d<\/p>\n This Indigenous activist flotilla just sailed the entire length of the Amazon River to take their message to the #COP30<\/a> climate conference. pic.twitter.com\/55YjlZgJct<\/a><\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
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