Term appears in four official files approved at the meeting that seeks ways to combat global warming, mitigate and adapt impacts on the planet
One of the hallmarks of the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (), which ended on Saturday (22), in , is the unprecedented mention of people of African descent. The term appears in four official documents approved at the meeting that seeks ways to combat global warming, mitigate and adapt the impacts on the planet.
The mention of people of African descent appears in the documents Just Transition, Gender Action Plan, Global Adaptation Objective and the Mutirão. All texts are published on the website of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the scope under which COP edition meetings are held.
The inclusion takes place just two days after the national Black Consciousness holiday, a date that marks the recognition of the Afro-descendant element in Brazilian identity and, also, which demands racial equality and the fight against discrimination.
Energy transition
The Energy Transition document cites the importance of ensuring broad and meaningful participation “involving all relevant stakeholders”, and lists workers affected by the transitions, informal workers, people in vulnerable situations, indigenous peoples, local communities, migrants and internally displaced people, people of African descent, women, children, young people, the elderly and people with disabilities”.
At another point, he emphasizes that transition trajectories must respect, promote and fulfill the human rights of these groups.
Adaptation and genre
The Global Adaptation Goal document highlights the contributions of children, young people, people with disabilities, indigenous peoples and local communities, people of African descent and migrants “to adaptation, as well as the importance of considering issues of gender, human rights, intergenerational equity and social justice, and of adopting participatory and fully transparent approaches”.
The Gender Action Plan text recognizes the contribution of women and girls of African descent to climate action.
Mutirão
The Mutirão, classified by the Brazilian presidency of COP30 as a “continuous method of mobilization that begins before, goes through and continues beyond COP30”, emphasizes the “important role and engagement” of groups that are not the parties (UNFCCC signatory countries). Among those mentioned are indigenous peoples, local communities, people of African descent, women, young people and children.
These groups, according to the text, support the parties and contribute to “significant collective progress towards the long-term objectives of the Paris Agreement”.
The Paris Agreement, launched at COP21 in 2015, brings together global actions in response to the threat of climate change, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Greater advance
The Minister of Racial Equality, , celebrated the recognition of the international meeting. “With this step, COP30 formally recognizes that Afro-descendant populations are those most affected by climate change.”
However, the minister recognizes that it is still necessary to move forward in proposing concrete actions. “It is necessary to think about inclusive climate policies, which consider not only the reality of the territories, but those who live in peripheral areas and other places disproportionately impacted by environmental racism”, he added, in a note published on the ministry’s website.
Popular pressure
The ministry recognizes that pressure from civil society movements was also an element that led to the recognition of the protagonism of people of African descent.
The Geledés Instituto da Mulher Negra, a civil society organization, was one of the actors who participated in the articulations.
The NGO celebrates inclusion and congratulates Brazilian negotiators. The institute classifies the feat as an “advance” in international climate policy. “Afro-descendant populations in the global diaspora are among those most impacted by the climate crisis and, at the same time, figure as protagonists of solutions, knowledge and resilience practices in their territories”, he explains.
In Geledés’ opinion, recognition is not a symbolic gesture. “It opens the way for climate policies that are fairer, more effective and rooted in the realities of territories historically affected by structural inequalities”, he states in a note.
“This result gives us the possibility of demanding public adaptation policies that prioritize those who are actually most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and need resources and institutional capabilities now”, he adds.
Start at COP16
The inclusion of people of African descent is a step following the meeting of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16), which took place in Cali, Colombia.
In an unprecedented decision at the time, the conference recognized the participation of indigenous peoples, quilombolas and communities in themes related to nature preservation.
*With information from Agência Brasil
Published by Nícolas Robert
