Placing the Amazon at the Heart of Climate Action
As the COP30 in the Amazon approaches, the urgency is clear: the world must put the Amazon at the core of the climate agenda.
Placing the Amazon at the Heart of Climate Action
The Amazon is undeniably one of Earth’s most powerful climate regulators—its forests store vast amounts of carbon and drive rainfall across continents. But today, the biome faces escalating threats that no single country or sector can tackle alone. Safeguarding its vital functions demands coordinated action at the local, regional, and global levels.
As the first-ever Climate Change COP in the Amazon approaches, the urgency is clear: the world must put the Amazon at the core of the climate agenda. This panel will explore a critical question—what does it truly mean to center the Amazon in global climate action?
Leaders from diverse sectors, ethnicities and backgrounds will come together to answer this question, bringing perspectives rooted in science, policy, territory, and ancestral knowledge systems. The panel will also feature presentations from Amazonian networks and open discussions on their strategies, demands, and visions for the region.
Context:
There is no doubt that the Amazon is one of the planet’s main climate regulators. Its contributions to continental rainfall and the millions of tons of carbon stored in its forests are essential for global climate stability. Therefore, any discussion about the actions needed to sustain its vital functions must be approached from both local and regional perspectives, as well as a global one—recognizing that only collective action can address the dynamics currently threatening the Amazonian peoples, the safety of their territories, and the integrity of the biome they share.
These dynamics—primarily those driving deforestation, fragmentation, and degradation—have been widely documented, and are pushing the biome toward a tipping point: 16% of its forest cover has been deforested, 23% has completely lost its ecological connectivity, and more than 13% is at risk of losing it, and more than 26% shows signs of degradation.
This situation demands placing the Amazon at the heart of the global climate agenda. This panel will reflect on this premise by addressing the question: What does it really mean to put the Amazon at the center of climate action? If the drivers of deforestation and degradation operate at local, regional, and global scales, what actions and commitments –viewed through a lens of climate justice– should be made at each level? How can the concrete solutions already emerging from Amazonian territories help inform and contribute to shape measures at the regional and global scales?
Guided by questions of regional commitment, global responsibility, and local-to-global strategies, leaders from diverse backgrounds will reflect on how to safeguard this vital biome, strengthen climate justice, and build the commitment needed to ensure the Amazon remains a source of life and climate stability for the planet. The panel will also feature presentations from Amazonian networks and open discussions on their strategies, demands, and visions for the region.
Speakers:
- Carlos Nobre ( Brasil) Co-chair, Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA).
- Silvana Baldovino (Perú) Program Director Indigenous Peoples and Biodiversity, Peruvian Society for Environmental Law (SPDA).
- Martin von Hildebrand (Colombia) Secretary General, Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO).
- Jamer López (Perú) Indigenous leader, President of ORAU and member of the International Working Group of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact (GTI PIACI).
Presenting and moderating the panel:
- Carolina Herrera (Colombia) Co-Director, Instituto Panamazónico.
- Pablo Solón (Bolivia) Executive Director of Fundación Solon, Member of the World Assembly on the Amazon (AMA).
- Julia Almeida (Brasil). Advocacy Lead at Amazon Underworld.
As the COP30 in the Amazon approaches, the urgency is clear: the world must put the Amazon at the core of the climate agenda.
Placing the Amazon at the Heart of Climate Action
The Amazon is undeniably one of Earth’s most powerful climate regulators—its forests store vast amounts of carbon and drive rainfall across continents. But today, the biome faces escalating threats that no single country or sector can tackle alone. Safeguarding its vital functions demands coordinated action at the local, regional, and global levels.
As the first-ever Climate Change COP in the Amazon approaches, the urgency is clear: the world must put the Amazon at the core of the climate agenda. This panel will explore a critical question—what does it truly mean to center the Amazon in global climate action?
Leaders from diverse sectors, ethnicities and backgrounds will come together to answer this question, bringing perspectives rooted in science, policy, territory, and ancestral knowledge systems. The panel will also feature presentations from Amazonian networks and open discussions on their strategies, demands, and visions for the region.
Context:
There is no doubt that the Amazon is one of the planet’s main climate regulators. Its contributions to continental rainfall and the millions of tons of carbon stored in its forests are essential for global climate stability. Therefore, any discussion about the actions needed to sustain its vital functions must be approached from both local and regional perspectives, as well as a global one—recognizing that only collective action can address the dynamics currently threatening the Amazonian peoples, the safety of their territories, and the integrity of the biome they share.
These dynamics—primarily those driving deforestation, fragmentation, and degradation—have been widely documented, and are pushing the biome toward a tipping point: 16% of its forest cover has been deforested, 23% has completely lost its ecological connectivity, and more than 13% is at risk of losing it, and more than 26% shows signs of degradation.
This situation demands placing the Amazon at the heart of the global climate agenda. This panel will reflect on this premise by addressing the question: What does it really mean to put the Amazon at the center of climate action? If the drivers of deforestation and degradation operate at local, regional, and global scales, what actions and commitments –viewed through a lens of climate justice– should be made at each level? How can the concrete solutions already emerging from Amazonian territories help inform and contribute to shape measures at the regional and global scales?
Guided by questions of regional commitment, global responsibility, and local-to-global strategies, leaders from diverse backgrounds will reflect on how to safeguard this vital biome, strengthen climate justice, and build the commitment needed to ensure the Amazon remains a source of life and climate stability for the planet. The panel will also feature presentations from Amazonian networks and open discussions on their strategies, demands, and visions for the region.
Speakers:
- Carlos Nobre ( Brasil) Co-chair, Science Panel for the Amazon (SPA).
- Silvana Baldovino (Perú) Program Director Indigenous Peoples and Biodiversity, Peruvian Society for Environmental Law (SPDA).
- Martin von Hildebrand (Colombia) Secretary General, Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO).
- Jamer López (Perú) Indigenous leader, President of ORAU and member of the International Working Group of Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact (GTI PIACI).
Presenting and moderating the panel:
- Carolina Herrera (Colombia) Co-Director, Instituto Panamazónico.
- Pablo Solón (Bolivia) Executive Director of Fundación Solon, Member of the World Assembly on the Amazon (AMA).
- Julia Almeida (Brasil). Advocacy Lead at Amazon Underworld.