COP30: We Must Support the Most Vulnerable Communities and Stop Illegal Gold Mining in the Amazon

In a discussion organized by the CREWS initiative, we presented how early warning systems and anticipatory action can protect lives and livelihoods in Southeast Asia. At the Ethiopian Pavilion we shared our experience in building resilient food systems, promoting sustainable land management and supporting small-scale farmers. Across all panels we emphasized systemic approaches, multistakeholder engagement combined with locally led solutions.

Supporting the most vulnerable

We highlighted how people living in fragile and conflict-affected areas are more vulnerable to climate impacts and risks. These communities serve as our inspiration because of how they respond to climate threats with effectiveness, resilience and innovation, and their invaluable knowledge.

Climate adaptation can only succeed if people in these regions receive the support and resources needed to put proven solutions into practice. We have long called on governments to close the gap between what they promise and current climate funding chanelled to the most vulnerable.

Donors must massively scale up adaptation finance and ensure it reaches vulnerable communities through locally led, context-specific solutions. Strengthening data, early warning systems, and integrated humanitarian–development approaches is essential to build real climate resilience where fragility and inequality collide.

Protection of nature and the climate is also a human rights issue

 Illegal gold mining and deforestation are major drivers of pollution and destabilize the global climate. Indigenous peoples, who safeguard many of the last intact forests, must be treated as key partners and not as obstacles.

Together with our partners we presented a report that details how illegal gold mining, deforestation and mercury pollution are weakening entire Amazonian ecosystems and endangering the health of local communities. We warn that the Amazon is approaching a tipping point and we urge governments and international partners to stop illegal mining, strengthen territorial protection, support Indigenous peoples and invest in sustainable alternatives that can keep the forest and its communities alive.

We also hosted a panel on this topic with experts, lawyers and representatives of Indigenous peoples from the Amazon. They strongly emphasized the need to work closely with the most vulnerable.

We must strengthen Indigenous leadership in climate governance, curb illegal mining through stricter regulation and regional cooperation, and integrate its true environmental impact into climate and conservation policies.

At the same time we raised the issue of environmental defenders who in many countries face intimidation, attacks or imprisonment simply for protecting their land from destruction. We want them to receive clear international support and for their safety to become a real part of climate negotiations.

COP30 showed that while the world may agree on what needs to be done, real progress is held back by weak commitments and a lack of funding reaching those who need it most. The final declaration did not include a commitment to phase out fossil fuels.

The negotiations nevertheless brought several important steps forward, including the adoption of a Just Transition mechanism and new international initiatives linking democracy and climate. It is clear, however, that without a faster shift away from fossil fuels and significantly greater support for vulnerable communities, the climate crisis will continue to deepen.