Indigenous peoples have demanded for decades that governments come together and commit to getting off fossil fuels. The First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, taking place later this month in Santa Marta, Colombia, is a manifestation of that demand.
On International Women's Day, Indigenous women from across the Ecuadorian Amazon traveled by foot, car, and canoe to Puyo with a single, unified demand: No more oil in the Amazon.
When Petro met Trump on February 3rd, the stakes were high. The Trump Administration had decertified Colombia from receiving security assistance on grounds that it was not adequately addressing drug trafficking.
Yesterday’s meeting between Colombian President Petro and Donald Trump offers hope but doesn’t guarantee an improvement in the relationship between the two leaders.
In a time of repression and daily outrage, where do we find hope? For nearly 30 years, the U’wa people of Colombia have shown the world what spiritual, cultural, and political resistance looks like. Their struggle continues, and so does our commitment.
The changes fall far short of what is needed to prevent violations of Indigenous peoples' rights and to halt large scale destruction of critical ecosystems like the Amazon biome.
Newsweek | The path forward is simple and urgent. Governments must declare the Amazon and Indigenous territories no-go zones for fossil fuels.
“For us, the Wampis, autonomy means living in freedom and peace as we have inherited our territory. It means being free from pollution and deciding our own future, for ourselves, but also for all of humanity”.
Communities won their lawsuit, yet the country is being forced to pay the company responsible for one of the worst environmental crimes in the Amazon.
“A debt is owed to the Amazonian families still waiting for truth, justice, and full reparation."
Associated Press | “We have to continue defending the future, and we need more and more people to join this cause.”
“We’re very happy that our lands advanced in the demarcation process, but there are so many lands that still need to be recognized and demarcated in Brazil.”
This victory belongs to the people of Ecuador. It is a reminder that democratic power still matters, even in times of crisis. But it is also a beginning, not an end.
“Years of steadfast organizing under the leadership of Amazonian Indigenous peoples have successfully pressured JPMorgan, the world’s largest fossil financier, to take a crucial step towards recognizing Indigenous and human rights."
“The forest lives because we are here. If they remove the people, the forest will die with them."
“We set out not to conquer, but to connect; so that the world, finally, will listen to the voices of the Amazon.”
In the face of inaction and paralysis of countries in making significant progress to address the climate crisis and its principal driver – fossil fuels – a worldwide coalition of legislative leaders has taken matters into their own hands, demonstrating what true climate leadership can look like.
El País | What is at stake is not only Ecuador’s Amazon. A just energy transition must begin from the principle of shared but differentiated responsibility.
This report shines a spotlight on companies that are exploring and developing new fossil fuel reserves or building new fossil infrastructure, and it reveals which banks and investors are backing the expansion of this dirty and dangerous industry across Latin America and the Caribbean.
“Ecuador’s new oil auction is a direct threat to our territories. After 60 years of extraction, we’ve seen only death and destruction, not development.”
Associated Press | “The Amazon is not for sale. We will defend our territories because we have not been consulted – this is our home."
Associated Press | “Consuming oil from the Amazon is incompatible with climate leadership. As the world’s fourth-largest economy, California is sending a powerful market signal by examining its crude footprint and role in Amazon destruction.”
“This is the first step in ending California’s addiction to Amazon crude. Consuming oil from the Amazon is incompatible with climate leadership."
Associated Press | “There is no solution to any of the threats the Amazon is facing without its communities.”
“This deal has no consent, no legitimacy, and will face legal and social resistance every step of the way.”
This united front builds on a track record of resistance: in more than 25 years, no new oil well has been drilled in Ecuador’s southeastern Amazon.
Associated Press | “We are seeing a sweeping package of regressive reforms that are rolling back environmental protections, Indigenous rights guarantees, and threatening basic civil liberties like the freedom of speech and assembly,"
“Without our consent, this project has no legitimacy. Investors must be warned: any deal built on rights violations is built on quicksand.”
“These informal meetings and all publicity surrounding them have no validity as a mechanism for Indigenous peoples' participation. The truth cannot be hidden."
