Coinciding with the opening of the climate conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, the undersigned organizations affirm the need to move from general recommendations to measurable, accountable executive decisions.
The continued international slowdown in addressing climate change will lead to a systemic human collapse and will devastate local communities—especially the most vulnerable groups. Accordingly, the undersigned organizations call for a transformation in the public policy approach to the annual climate conference: its role must not be limited to issuing recommendations, but must also encompass mechanisms for implementing and overseeing those recommendations. This includes adopting clear timelines and measurable performance indicators; instituting public follow-up mechanisms within the Enhanced Transparency Framework of the Paris Agreement; and developing an overarching plan to support poorer countries in building environmental capacities. It also requires operationalizing the Loss and Damage Fund with new and additional grant-based financing (not loans), under transparency and accountability standards that ensure fair and direct channeling to the most affected communities, and guaranteeing equitable and transparent access to climate finance.
The ongoing global deterioration of the climate, rising temperatures, and the worsening of environmental disasters—stemming from human practices, particularly in situations of armed conflict and occupation, the use of internationally prohibited weapons wherever that occurs, and ecocide policies—cannot be separated from historical patterns of injustice entrenched by unequal economic policies. These dynamics have produced rising numbers of refugees and internally displaced persons due to environmental disasters, in the absence of a legal framework providing adequate protection, while international efforts remain insufficient to safeguard their rights. As a result, the most vulnerable people—especially those under occupation—bear the heaviest burden of a crisis they did not cause. These violations require accountability and reparation under international human rights law and international humanitarian law.
Environmental and climate justice is a human and legal responsibility. A commitment to sustainable cities powered by clean energy is essential, as is curbing unsustainable urban sprawl and improving land-use efficiency, with a focus on decarbonizing existing cities and strengthening nature-based solutions. Governments must assume their responsibilities by adopting policies and financing/regulatory tools that deliver tangible near- and medium-term emissions reductions. At the same time, the organizations warn against using “green transition” programs as a pretext for land dispossession or the displacement of Indigenous peoples under the banner of “renewable energy.” Respect for human rights and the rights of Indigenous peoples must be upheld—including the requirement of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)—in line with international humanitarian law and the principles of sustainable development.
The undersigned organizations caution against attempts to politicize climate action and reduce it to pure economic bargaining at the expense of legal and environmental obligations. Achieving environmental and climate justice requires a human rights-based approach that includes the right to access information, transparency and the free circulation of information, effective public participation, and the protection of environmental and human rights defenders from reprisals. These safeguards must be integrated across all mitigation and adaptation policies and instruments, including climate finance, carbon markets, and just transition plans.
In conclusion, the undersigned organizations call for the Belém conference (Brazil) to mark a genuine turning point toward a transparent mechanism for environmental and climate accountability, with clear timelines, measurable indicators, and public periodic reviews—together with meaningful empowerment of civil society and independent organizations to monitor the implementation of international commitments and track their impact on the ground. They also call for a clear plan that includes: the gradual phase-out of fossil fuels and an end to expansion in exploration and production; ambitious emissions reductions aligned with the 1.5 °C goal; the operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund with new and additional grant-based financing (not loans) and transparency and accountability standards that direct support directly and swiftly to the most affected communities; ensuring a just energy transition that protects livelihoods and upholds human rights and the rights of Indigenous peoples, including FPIC; subjecting climate finance and carbon markets to explicit human-rights safeguards within the Paris Agreement’s Enhanced Transparency Framework; the formal recognition by states of climate refugees and climate-displaced persons and the provision of comprehensive legal protection, with a clear commitment to allocate fair and timely financing and to implement executive policies that respect their rights and prevent discrimination—so that no one is abandoned in the face of climate impacts.
The organizations further affirm that historical responsibility for the climate crisis exempts no one, but places the greatest obligation to remedy and make reparation on the largest polluters, in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDR-RC).
Signatory Organizations:
- Diwan Alomran – Egypt
- Manara Initiative for Legal Support to Women in the Canal Cities – Egypt
- Intersection Association for Rights and Freedoms – Tunisia
- SELM Initiative – Tunisia
- Social Accountability Association – Tunisia
- Egyptian Foundation for Environmental Rights – Egypt
- Housing and Land Rights Network – Habitat International Coalition
- Wasl Initiative for Human Rights – Tunisia
- HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement – Middle East and North Africa
- The Human and the City for Human and Social Research – Egypt
- Refugees Platform in Egypt – Egypt
