Climate justice activists, Indigenous leaders, and civil society groups staged a powerful demonstration within the UN venue, unveiling bold banners that read: “No More Fossil Fuels,” “Climate Leadership Is Not Made of Oil,” and “Our Future Is Not Up For Sale.”
At the heart of the protest, Chief Ninawa Inu Huni Kui performed a traditional Indigenous ceremony, calling global attention to the sacredness of the Amazon and the threat posed by oil expansion.
The protest directly challenged Brazil’s current petroleum ambitions. While Brazilian negotiators at Bonn attempt to position the country as a leader in climate diplomacy ahead of COP30, the federal government is simultaneously moving forward with the 5th Cycle of the Permanent Offer of Concessions—an oil and gas auction involving 172 blocks, including 47 in the ecologically sensitive Amazon Estuary.
Activists argue this move severely undermines Brazil’s credibility as the incoming COP host and contradicts its international climate commitments.
“This is not an energy transition; it’s an energy contradiction,” said Cacique Ninawa Huni Kui. “There is no future with new oil. The COP cannot be a stage for climate marketing, it must be a turning point.”
Fossil Fuels and the Fight for the Amazon
According to research from the Climainfo Institute, just 0.06% of Brazil’s oil revenues in the past seven years have been invested in energy transition projects, exposing a vast gap between rhetoric and real action.
Activists warn the auction could unlock over 11.1 billion tonnes of CO₂e, a staggering carbon footprint that could erase years of global climate progress.
The Amazon Estuary blocks alone could release 4.7 billion tonnes of emissions, activists said.
Brazilian oil company Petrobras’ president, Magda Chambriard, recently echoed Donald Trump’s “drill, baby, drill” mantra, sparking widespread condemnation. Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva have also drawn criticism for backing fossil expansion, even as Lula seeks to brand Brazil as a climate champion.
“President Lula must declare the Amazon a fossil-free zone,” urged Luene Karipuna, spokesperson for COIAB. “There can be no climate justice without historical justice.”
Global Solidarity, Regional Resistance
Support for halting fossil fuel expansion is growing across the Amazon Basin. More than 60 Indigenous chiefs in Brazil’s Oiapoque region have rejected oil exploration over the absence of free, prior, and informed consent. Pan-Amazonian Indigenous leaders from nine countries issued a political declaration demanding a fossil-free future ahead of COP30.
“Expanding oil and gas while claiming climate leadership is a glaring contradiction,” said Clara Junger of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. “Brazil’s oil auction undermines global trust ahead of COP30.”
Other international voices joined the chorus. Romain Ioualalen of Oil Change International called on Brazil to lead by example, stating that “hosting COP30 is an opportunity to set the stage for a fossil-free future, not deepen fossil dependency.”
Claudio Angelo of Observatório do Clima criticized the contradiction between diplomatic efforts in Bonn and fossil policy in Brasília, warning:
“President Lula’s legacy won’t be oil wells; it must be global environmental leadership.”
The protest marks a flashpoint in the fight for climate justice in Latin America, with Indigenous leaders warning that oil extraction directly threatens their lands, cultures, and the global climate balance. The Amazon, which scientists call the “lungs of the planet,” faces mounting threats from deforestation, extractivism, and now oil drilling.
“Amazonian territories have long protected the planet,” said Patrícia Suarez of Colombia’s OPIAC. “This protection must now become an irreversible policy.”
By Dare Akogun
