As the Brazilian city of Belém prepares for this year’s U.N. climate conference, COP30, Indigenous leaders worldwide say they’re getting ready to have their demands addressed. Dubbed the “nature COP” by some delegates, the 2025 conference is set to see the largest participation of Indigenous leaders in the climate conference’s history, with more than 3,000 Indigenous people registered. The conference will run from Nov. 10-21 in Belém, a city known as the “gateway” to the Amazon Rainforest. Mongabay spoke to Indigenous leaders from Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Pacific to find out what they want from COP30. “Upholding Indigenous peoples’ rights is only possible by placing them at the center of discussions, negotiations, and decision-making,” said Dinaman Tuxá, executive coordinator of the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB), one of the country’s main Indigenous advocacy groups. “We aim to demand Indigenous land demarcation and direct financing as climate mitigation tools for combating global warming.” At the COP30 World Leaders Summit on November 6, in the lead up to the conference, dozens of countries made major commitments to advance land rights and finance to Indigenous peoples, local and Afro-descendant communities, including recognizing 160 million hectares (395 million acres) of land and pledging $1.8 billion. Indigenous delegates also plan to tackle a range of other issues, including climate adaptation, a just energy transition, carbon markets, loss and damage funding, and the protection of Indigenous peoples’ rights as the world eyes their forests for climate solutions. Clouds above the rainforests in…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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