COP 30: What is at stake this year and why does it matter for human rights?
Some current responses to the climate crisis are inadvertently creating new human rights risks.
Every year, the Conference of the Parties (COP) brings together the 197 member countries of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for a crucial summit on global climate action. For over two weeks, country representatives negotiate and agree on concrete measures to respect their engagement towards limiting the rise of global temperature to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels—a target established in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
See INCLO side events at COP30
See our members’ events
This year, from November 10th to 21st, all eyes will be on Belém do Para, at the heart of the Amazon rainforest, where COP30 will take place. These negotiations are critical to ensuring that climate action does not deepen inequalities but instead advances justice. Some current responses to the climate crisis are inadvertently creating new human rights risks, such as the expansion of renewables without addressing the imbalances in power between the Global North and South. The idea of a just transition (shifting to renewable energy while protecting workers and communities dependent on fossil-based livelihoods) sits at the heart of this effort. Likewise, under the slogan “From Baku to Belém,” a central topic will be raising the climate finance goal — the funds that the most polluting countries must transfer to the most affected ones to support efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to climate change impacts, and repair the damage caused by climate disasters.
This COP unfolds in the middle of a mixed landscape for climate action. On one side, two international courts (the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice) have recently issued advisory opinions highlighting States’ climate obligations, which could positively influence ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions. In contrast, Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement (effective January 2026) will not only obstruct progress toward financing goals but could create a domino effect by discouraging other developed nations from making genuine climate commitments.
The climate COP serves not only as a negotiation space among country representatives, but also as a platform for civil society, the private sector, NGOs, and social movements seeking to influence policy and spotlight social, environmental, and climate justice demands. This particular edition is seen as an opportunity for civil society to engage in mobilizations, protests and creative participation in and outside the Conference space.
For the first time, INCLO will take part in a climate COP with five of our members, joining the global human rights movement to ensure that climate policies are grounded in human rights principles. We will host two side-events during the Justice and Human Rights thematic days to continue building a strong civic space in the path for a just energy transition.
Defenders and civic space: at the heart of the just transition
Description: While expanding renewables is a necessary step to curb global temperature rise, the absence of a justice-based approach is often endangering human rights and those who defend them. This panel brings together researchers from Global Witness, Conectas, CELS, and Dejusticia, alongside front line defenders from Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia. Together, they will reflect on the importance of a strong civic space in the push for a just transition and share strategies to protect environmental defenders.
*Event in Spanish with simultaneous interpretation PT/EN
Protecting rights in the race for energy transition
Description: Four INCLO members from Brazil, South Africa, Argentina and India will discuss how to ensure that the global energy transition does not replicate the extractive and colonial patterns of fossil fuel economies. Each will share a distinct perspective resulting from their research and litigation work, united by a common thread: the vital role of rights to protest, participation, and prior consultation in the path toward a truly just transition.
*Event in English, with live translation to Portuguese.
Our members’ events
Monday 10 November
Pavilhao de Direitos Humanos | Human Rights Pavilion
Members involved: Conectas Human Rights (BraziI)
Location: Green Zone
Time: All day
Thursday 13 November
Safe pathways for climate mobility
Members involved: Dejusticia (Colombia)
Location: Climate Mobility Pavilion, Blue Zone
Time: 10:00
International Tax Cooperation: Unlocking Finance for 1.5°C
Members involved: Dejusticia (Colombia)
Location: Germany Pavilion
Time: 11:15
Friday 14 November
Escazú Agreement and Paris Agreement: allies in climate action in Latin America
Members involved: Dejusticia (Colombia)
Location: Climate Hub CCCA Climate Hub CCCA (Travessa Capitão Pedro Albuquerque, 395, Cidade Velha, Belém)
Time: 9:00
Roundtable: Intersections between indigenous lawyering and movement lawyering in the struggle for land and climate justice around the world
Members involved: CELS (Argentina)
Location: People’s Summit
Time: 14:00
Adaptação transformacional a partir do Sul Global: raça, gênero e territórios no GGA | Transformational adaptation from the Global South: race, gender, and territories in the GGA
Members involved: Conectas Human Rights (Brazil)
Location: Blue Zone, side event room 8
Time: 15:00
Saturday 15 November
Defending food, defending the future
Members involved: CELS (Argentina), Dejusticia (Colombia)
Location: Blue Zone, side event room 6
Time: 18:30
Sunday 16 November
Corredores logísticos, derechos socioambientales y el papel de las instituciones financieras en la Amazonía | Logistics corridors, socio-environmental rights, and the role of financial institutions in the Amazon
Members involved: Conectas Human Rights (BraziI)
Location: Estación Amazonia Sembre, Museo Goeldi-Chalet
Time: 15:30
Wednesday 19 November
Licenciamiento ambiental y cambio climático: logros y retos del litigio estratégico | Environmental licensing and climate change: achievements and challenges of strategic litigation
Members involved: Conectas Human Rights (BraziI), Dejusticia (Colombia)
Location: CCCA Climate Hub (Travessa Capitão Pedro Albuquerque, 395, Cidade Velha)
Time: 14:00
Workshop: State responsibilities in addressing corporate impunity
Members involved: Dejusticia (Colombia)
Location: ARAYARA – Amazon Climate Hub (R. Boaventura da Silva, 64)
Time: 20:00
Thursday 20 November
Investigación-Acción por la Justicia climática: biodiversidad, transición justa y DDHH|Action Research for Climate Justice: biodiversity, just transition, and human rights
Members involved: Dejusticia (Colombia)
Location: Colombia Pavilion – Green Zone
Time: 14:00