Over 70,000 march for the climate on the streets of Belém
With an expressive display of the cultural and social diversity of the people of the Amazon, the Global Climate March took to the streets of the city of Belém on Saturday (Nov. 15).
At least 70 thousand people are said to have marched for about 4.5 km under a strong 35 °C sun. Nothing could be more fitting for a demonstration on the lack of effective decisions to combat the climate emergency at the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30).
The march was organized by members of the Peoples’ Summit and COP das Baixadas, and was attended by representatives of organizations from all continents, traditional peoples, and local communities.
“We are here with all the peoples of the world and social movements to raise the alarm about threats and attacks on territories and on human rights and environment defenders. We need official bodies and the UN to recognize that, in order to have a just transition, we must protect those who protect the forest,” said Darcy Frigo, from the Brazilian Committee of Human Rights Defenders (CBDDH) and the political commission of the Peoples’ Summit.
“We want to voice all the demands that have come up during the Peoples’ Summit. We want to denounce false solutions to climate change, such as forest financing funds. We ask them not to drill for oil in the Amazon and not to spread fossil fuels around the world,” said Eduardo Giesen, Latin America coordinator for the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice.
The Brazilian ministers of the environment and climate change, Marina Silva, and of indigenous peoples, Sonia Guajajara, climbed onto the main float of the march to show their support. Silva highlighted the grassroots nature of the COP being held in Brazil.
“After other COPs, where social demonstrations took place only within official UN spaces, in Brazil, in the Global South, in a consolidated democracy, we can take to the streets. COP30 allows the meeting of the peripheries, the waters, the cities, the fields, the forests – places that face climate change. Despite our challenges and contradictions, we have to map out the path to a just transition and end our dependence on fossil fuels,” she declared.
Cultural force
An example of local tradition and mobilization at the event was the Arraial do Pavulagem – a group that promotes popular music from Pará and the Amazon. Its coordinator, Júnior Soares, believes it is impossible to talk about urban traditions without addressing climatic extremes.
“We’ve been together as a group and performing on the streets of Belém for 38 years. The environmental conditions of the place where we live have always been key to us. We’re marching with some of our performers, joining this struggle to ask the world to pay special attention to the Amazon and the people who live here,” Soares said.
Marciele Albuquerque, a Munduruku indigenous activist, also took to the streets to defend the demarcation of traditional peoples’ lands as part of climate policy.
“The march is central to our demands as it brings together peoples, voices, and languages from all over the world. This huge cultural diversity shows our strength on the streets and to the world. We’re at the center of all discussions at COP30 here in Belém, defending the people who live in the Amazon and who pay for the climate consequences for which they are not responsible,” she stated.
Social movements
The Homeless Workers’ Movement (MTST) brought the social demand for housing to the fore in association with climate issues. Its national coordinator, Rud Rafael, pointed out that environmental issues have become increasingly central to the movement’s agenda.
“It is impossible to think about the issue of housing without thinking about the environmental issue. In Rio Grande do Sul [state, in South Brazil], for example, we had an extreme weather event that impacted more than 600 thousand people. It is impossible to think about the issue of housing solely in terms of the housing deficit when each extreme weather event affects thousands, sometimes millions, of people. The idea is to bring the periphery to the center of the solutions,” he said.
The rally was attended by protesters from various international organizations. Kwami Kpondzo, from Togo, Africa, came as a representative of the Global Forest Coalition and advocated for the union of all popular movements as a way to deal with global environmental problems.
“We are here to support the people impacted by climate change, forest degradation, mining, and deforestation. We want to take a stand in the march against capitalism and colonialism. We’re really happy because people together have power and are capable of changing this system that’s destroying our planet,” he said.
