Although the recent Conference of the Parties (COP 30 ) in Belem, the gateway to the Amazon River in Brazil, failed to adopt a plan for a road map to phase out fossil fuels and failed to make rich nations fulfil their obligations to fund climate actions in poor countries, COP 30 was inspired by Indigenous peoples.

Indigenous people have always considered Mother Earth as a living system to be respected. There are approximately 476 million indigenous people worldwide who care for 80% of the world’s biodiversity. They are an important part of the solution for climate change mitigation.

Indigenous Brazilian climate campaigner, journalist, and influencer Alice Pataxo was born on June 7, 2001, in Aldeia Craveiro, on the Pataxo Indigenous Territory of Barra Velha, Bahia State, Brazil.

At the age of 14, the expropriation of Araticum, the land of her tribe, made Alice become an activist.

She was the first Indigenous woman to serve as a Brazilian ambassador for the World Wildlife Fund, further strengthening her commitment to environmental conservation and the rights of Indigenous peoples at the national and international levels.

In November 2021, she participated in COP 26 in Glasgow, in the UK. She was honoured as one of the BBC’s 100 most influential women in 2022.

The EU-funded DEAR project, entitled Our Food Our Future, brought Alice Pataxo to Slovenia in June 2022, where she also gave an interview for Slovenian national RTV and attended the premiere of the documentary film The Territory (2022), directed by Alex Pritz, about the Uru-eu-wau-wau Brazilian tribe.

Alice Pataxo lives in Porto Seguro, Bahia, and works as an Indigenous communicator, writing to media outlets such as Projeto Colabora, Yahoo Notícias, Fontes BR, and the Tucum Brasil blog. She is one of the most important influencers in Brazil.

Less than 1 million square kilometres, or 11.6% of Brazil’s territory, is Indigenous land. In 2024, Brazil lost 2.82 million hectares of tropical rainforest to illegal forest fires and to clearing for soy and cattle farming.

Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds hardly ever reach Indigenous peoples. One exception to this rule is Norway.

The Norwegian Embassy in Brazil’s Norwegian Indigenous Peoples Programme (NIPP) funds the Rio Negro Indigenous Fund (FIRN), managed by the Federation of Indigenous Organisations of Rio Negro (FOIRN), with about $625,000. NIPP also supports the Ruti Indigenous Fund, managed by the Indigenous Council of the Roraima State.

Brazil’s largest Indigenous organisation, APIB, wrote the country’s first Indigenous-led climate strategy in August 2025, which demands the demarcation and protection of Indigenous territories, a ban on mining and oil production there, and ODA funds for Indigenous organisations. If they have their land rights defined and protected, this will benefit the rainforest more than carbon offset schemes.

Around 1,000 Indigenous representatives were invited to take part in the COP 30, with a further 2,000 able to access spaces for activists and the public. So far, they have demarcated 10 new Indigenous territories, thereby protecting the environment and culture of Indigenous Brazilians living in these areas.

The Green Saga project offers a great opportunity to include topics of climate change and Indigenous heroes in adventure book stories.

References:

Alice Pataxo Social Media:

https://www.facebook.com/alicepataxo

https://www.instagram.com/alice_pataxo/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OItnwU6O5Qs

Alice Pataxo on Slovenian National RTV:

https://365.rtvslo.si/arhiv/odmevi/174878611

Barker Will: Did Cop30 fulfil its promise to Indigenous Brazilians? November 2025, https://theweek.com/environment/cop30-indigenous-brazilians

Gabay Aimee: Indigenous alliance unveils Brazil’s first native-led emissions strategy, August 2025, https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2025/08/indigenous-alliance-unveils-brazils-first-native-led-emissions-strategy

Gabay Aimee: Norway pledges more direct funding to support indigenous peoples in Brazil, August 2025 https://news.mongabay.com/2025/08/norway-pledges-more-direct-funding-to-support-indigenous-peoples-in-brazil/

Goldman Elizabeth, Carter Sarah, Sims Michelle: Fires Drove Record-breaking Tropical Forest Loss in 2024, May 2025, https://gfr.wri.org/latest-analysis-deforestation-trends

Michelis De Lima Fernandes Marina: O devir indigena dos meios: Ativismo político no digital a partir dos perfis de Txai Suruí e Alice Pataxó, May 2025, https://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/72107/72107.PDF

Mueller Paul:  COP-30 Misses the Point: Give Indigenous People Ownership, Not Handouts, November 2025, https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/cop-30-misses-the-point-give-indigenous-people-ownership-not-handouts/