COP30 : AQOCI Advocacy Document

AQOCI Advocacy Document for COP30

**Document translated with DeepL**

COP30 on climate change will be held from November 10 to 21, 2025, in Belém, Brazil, with the main objective of accelerating the implementation of the Paris Agreement. This crucial conference will focus in particular on new national plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the implementation of the new climate finance target, and a just transition. Its location in the Amazon will also highlight issues related to biodiversity and forest conservation.

At the same time, from November 12 to 16, Belém will host the People’s Summit, bringing together civil society and indigenous peoples from Brazil, Latin America, and around the world to make their voices heard in support of climate justice.

Our participation

AQOCI will be present at COP30 and the People’s Summit with a delegation of seven young climate justice activists. Our participation aims to:

Amplify the voices of the communities most affected by the climate crisis, particularly in the Global South
Continue our advocacy with Quebec and Canadian decision-makers for feminist climate justice
Strengthen our alliances with civil society in Quebec, Canada, and internationally on biodiversity and climate issues

Our vision and commitments

In 2024-2025, AQOCI organized the Quebec States General on International Solidarity, mobilizing more than 1,000 people through various dialogues. This process led to the adoption in June 2025 of a Declaration of Commitment supported by more than 100 organizations, which largely inspired this advocacy document.

Our vision is rooted in the hope for a just, inclusive world that respects the environment and human rights, where international solidarity is inseparable from the fight against inequality. It is based on feminist, anti-racist, pacifist, and environmentalist values.

We denounce false climate solutions and greenwashing that particularly affect populations in the Global South, and we call on governments to keep global warming below 1.5°C through policies that prioritize social, racial, and economic justice for all.

We also urge governments to respect the right to freedom of expression and to end the criminalization of land defenders, whose efforts are essential for a climate-just world.

This advocacy document was developed in collaboration with our member organizations, including Lawyers Without Borders Canada and Humanité & Inclusion, our youth delegation, and members of other youth delegations from Quebec who will be participating in COP30, drawing inspiration from the analyses and demands of our allies such as the Coordinating Committee of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA), the Latin American Network for Economic and Social Justice (LATINDADD), the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), and various coalitions of which we are members.

Policy demands

1. Promote women’s rights and leadership

The climate crisis is fueled by entrenched systems of exploitation, extraction, and inequality that concentrate power and resources in the hands of a privileged minority. Women, girls, and gender-diverse people, particularly those facing multiple forms of intersecting discrimination in frontline communities, bear the disproportionate brunt of its impacts. Yet they are systematically marginalized from spheres of power, with limited access to resources and decision-making spaces.^[1]

Following the adoption of the 10-year Lima Enhanced Work Program on Gender at COP29, AQOCI supports the adoption of a new, transformative, and ambitious Action Plan on Gender Equality at COP30. This Plan must be intersectional, inclusive, measurable, based on human rights, responsive to the needs of communities, and adequately funded.

Within the framework of COP30, we call on…

States: to adopt a new transformative and ambitious Action Plan on Gender Equality. This Action Plan must ensure the meaningful participation of women and other marginalized groups in climate decision-making spaces; the integration of gender justice, intersectionality, and Indigenous perspectives into national climate plans, such as NDCs and national adaptation plans; and direct access to public and grant-based climate finance for women’s groups, grassroots groups, and Indigenous communities.
Canada: Support the adoption of a new Gender Equality Action Plan that includes the elements mentioned above and advocate for the inclusion of women in all their diversity, human rights, and intersectionality in all negotiations at COP30.

2. Make COP30 the COP of just transition implementation

A just transition is an approach that ensures that the shift to a low-carbon economy is fair for everyone. It aims to protect workers and vulnerable communities during this transformation by ensuring: the creation of decent and sustainable jobs, social protection for affected populations, respect for fundamental human rights, the inclusion of marginalized communities in decision-making processes, and the equitable sharing of benefits and costs between so-called « developed » and « developing » countries. This vision is part of a climate justice perspective that recognizes differentiated responsibilities and unequal capacities in the face of climate challenges.

Calls for a just transition, a framework that emerged from trade union movements in the 1980s, are growing. To respond to these calls, governments must reorient the economy towards the well-being and protection of people and the planet. A just transition requires a fair and rights-based transformation of society, ensuring livelihoods and regenerative and resilient economies led by communities. It requires that the process of decarbonizing the economy be carried out in a fair and inclusive manner to ensure the support of workers and communities.

After years of negotiations and commitments, the time for promises must give way to action. COP30 represents a crucial opportunity to move from declarations of intent to the implementation of tangible measures that protect both the planet and its people.

In the context of COP30, we call on…

States to:
- to establish a Belém Action Mechanism (BAM) for a just transition as part of the Just Transition Work Program (JTWP) negotiations in order to accelerate, consolidate, and achieve a global just transition across the entire economy through international cooperation. This mechanism must be based on the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities, as well as respective capabilities.
- Ensure balanced and representative access to negotiations by imposing substantial limits to counter lobbyists who hinder initiatives to achieve the Paris Agreement goals. These limits should include, among other things, defining conflict of interest policies within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) processes.

3. Ensure climate finance commensurate with needs

The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, formalized in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, recognizes that all countries share responsibility for combating climate change, but that the richest countries, having historically emitted more greenhouse gases and having more resources, must take the lead in this fight by contributing to the financing of mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage.

Mitigation financing is crucial to reducing emissions at source and avoiding the worst-case scenarios, while adaptation funds enable vulnerable communities to adapt to the impacts that are already inevitable. Funding for loss and damage is a matter of fundamental climate justice, recognizing that some impacts are now irreversible and disproportionately affect the countries and communities that have contributed least to the problem.

This three-pronged approach to financing is not only a moral imperative, but also a strategic investment, as the costs of inaction far outweigh those of preventive action. Without these substantial and predictable financial commitments, particularly from countries historically responsible for emissions, the Paris Agreement will remain an empty framework, perpetuating global inequalities and compromising the fundamental rights of the most vulnerable populations, including women, indigenous peoples, young people, people with disabilities, and communities in the Global South who are already suffering the devastating effects of climate change.

In the context of COP30, we call on…

Canada^[2] :
- to triple its bilateral climate finance to $15.9 billion for the period 2026/27 to 2030/31, five crucial years for maximizing climate action around the world;
- set separate funding targets for mitigation (40%), adaptation (40%), and loss and damage (20%);
- prioritize distribution channels that are likely to reach vulnerable populations, balancing modalities with effectiveness.

Quebec: to ensure the continuation of the International Climate Cooperation Program (PCCI), a program that won the United Nations Climate Action Award in 2019 and enables the implementation of Quebec initiatives to combat climate change in French-speaking countries.

4. Reform global environmental governance to ensure climate justice

Major United Nations summits on the environment^[3] are sometimes accused of perpetuating inaction. Faced with the acceleration of the biodiversity, climate, and plastic pollution crises, voices are being raised to call for a profound reform of global environmental governance.

With regard to the climate COPs, the UNFCCC has reached a critical breaking point. Climate negotiations have consistently failed to ensure climate justice. They have marginalized the states and groups most affected by the climate crisis, indigenous peoples and civil society, and have allowed the richest countries and the biggest historical polluters to evade their legal obligations and responsibility.

The massive expansion of the COPs has not led to better and more inclusive decisions either; on the contrary, it has opened the door wider to the fossil fuel industry and other major emitters, allowing them to continue polluting with impunity and offering costly false solutions to greenwash their image^[4] . Global climate governance is increasingly perceived as disconnected from reality, driven by special interests, and losing relevance and credibility.

Effective multilateralism is essential to navigate these multiple crises without leaving anyone behind^[5] . This requires urgent and radical change in the process within the UNFCCC, as well as other international conventions and negotiations.

In the context of COP30, we call on…

States, including Canada: to recognize the need for a profound reform of the COP process, in particular:
- Shifting from consensus-based adoption to majority-vote adoption^[6] : This would end the ability of a minority to block progress and move towards more ambitious, equitable, and democratic outcomes. The climate process must no longer be held hostage by the interests of a minority.
- Ensuring equitable, predictable, and meaningful access to COP processes for indigenous peoples, civil society groups (especially those from the Global South), young people, women, and people with disabilities, in accordance with the public’s right to participate in decisions that affect them and the obligation of transparency of States Parties on climate matters.

5. Strengthen climate-biodiversity linkages to protect the environment

The climate crisis and the biodiversity loss crisis are closely linked and reinforce each other. Scientific studies published in recent years demonstrate this interdependence^[7] . On the one hand, climate change has adverse effects on biodiversity, and on the other hand, as ecosystems play a key role in climate change mitigation and adaptation, their disruption and the loss of biodiversity in turn fuel climate change and its consequences^[8] . For example, human activities such as deforestation and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have already affected more than 75% of terrestrial ecosystems and 66% of marine ecosystems^[9] . These processes not only compromise the planet’s climate resilience, but also lead to species extinction at a rate higher than that observed naturally.

At the global environmental governance level, especially after the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (2022), we are seeing a gradual integration of biodiversity issues into international climate negotiations and, conversely, climate considerations into discussions within the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). But there is still much work to be done. At COP29, biodiversity and its interconnection with climate were not included in the negotiation agenda or in the various decision texts adopted, ignoring the need to integrate synergies into national climate strategies.

In the context of COP30, we call on…

States to:
- to recognize the importance of biodiversity and mobilize financial resources for its protection in order to achieve climate goals. Research shows that biodiversity interventions, such as protection, reforestation, and wetland restoration, can provide up to 37% of the carbon mitigation measures needed by 2030. They thus contribute significantly to limiting global warming to less than 1.5°C^[10] .
- Promote and encourage the establishment of a permanent joint subsidiary body between the CBD and the UNFCCC^[11] . Proposed in particular by Greenpeace International, this body would enable joint work between the two conventions to implement common solutions to the two ecological crises.

Canada: establish a government coordination platform. This would involve creating a national platform bringing together the various ministries (environment, energy, agriculture, etc.) around the same table in order to align priorities and provide a coherent and integrated response to the multiple crises^[12] .

6. Recognize the key role of Indigenous peoples and territories in climate solutions

Indigenous peoples play a crucial role in protecting ecosystems. Indigenous lands, representing about 28% of the Earth’s surface, are important refuges for biodiversity and home to much of the planet’s remaining biodiversity^[13] . As defenders of their lands, they play a crucial role in protecting forests and other natural habitats that are vital to the global climate and biodiversity.

States must respect their rights, integrate their ancestral knowledge, and ensure the protection of indigenous territories in order to develop more effective mitigation and adaptation strategies. The full, equitable, inclusive, and effective participation of indigenous groups in international negotiations^[14] , including COP30, is essential to strengthening global climate action. This approach must be based on the principles of well-being, solidarity, and harmony with the Earth.

Ignoring Indigenous peoples compromises any real chance of tackling the climate crisis. Indigenous peoples must not be represented solely as victims, but as agents of change and bearers of solutions.

In the context of COP30, we call on…

States, including Canada, to:
- to recognize and integrate Indigenous knowledge systems into the fight against climate change^[15] . Indigenous knowledge systems and the sustainable lifestyles of Indigenous peoples must be recognized as legitimate strategies for mitigation, adaptation, and environmental restoration.
- to guarantee the protection of Indigenous territories as a priority climate action^[16] . Recognize, in the COP30 action document, that the global protection of Indigenous territories is an essential climate mitigation and adaptation action. Indigenous territories must be declared exclusion zones for extractive activities because they are particularly important areas for biodiversity, ecosystem functions and services, especially the Amazon, Congo, and Borneo-Mekong-Southeast Asia basins.
- Establish specific indicators within the overall adaptation goal that reflect the comprehensive protection of indigenous territories and recognition of their own governance systems.
- to integrate the restoration and recovery of indigenous territories affected by climate change into the loss and damage agenda, ensuring that these processes are led and decided by indigenous peoples themselves.

7. Breaking the vicious cycle of debt, climate crisis, and extractivism

There is a strong correlation between the climate crisis and the debt of countries in the Global South. The extraction of natural resources is one of the main sources of tax revenue, but it is also linked to debt and worsening environmental and social impacts.

Today, these countries are forced to prioritize repaying their external debt at the expense of their climate commitments. In other words, instead of tackling the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, they continue to invest in extractive industries to repay their debts.

According to official data from 2022, approximately 70% of Canada’s previous climate finance came in the form of loans, and only 30% in the form of grants^[17] , further indebting countries vulnerable to climate change.

As part of COP30, we call on…

States to:
- Support the implementation of mechanisms enabling debt cancellation, moratoriums, or restructuring: These mechanisms should be made available to countries in the Global South affected by extreme weather events, with immediate access to non-debt-creating resources to cover losses and damages^[18] .
- Commit to providing new, additional, and non-debt-creating financing for adaptation: This financing must go beyond the insufficient new annual target of $300 billion set at COP29 in order to respond in a timely manner to the real needs of the countries most affected by the climate crisis^[19] .

Canada:
Increase grants to at least 60% of climate finance: Canada should use only grants to address adaptation and loss and damage and, as a result, increase grants to at least 60% of Canada’s climate finance. Loans should only be used when necessary, for example for larger mitigation projects in middle-income countries, and should not exceed 40% of Canada’s bilateral climate finance^[20] .

8. Promote meaningful youth engagement in local and international climate action

Climate change is a societal issue that affects all generations. However, today’s youth will be more affected by climate change during their lifetime than any other segment of the population.

Their involvement in environmental policy decisions is not only a matter of fairness, but also essential for credible and ambitious climate action. Governments have a responsibility to integrate their innovations and solutions into climate strategies, formally recognizing their role as agents of change. This recognition must be reflected in tangible support for their initiatives and the adoption of an approach that takes intergenerational concerns into account.

In the context of COP30, we call on…

States: to support youth participation in the COP process. States and the UNFCCC must guarantee young people formal and permanent decision-making spaces, with the right to speak and vote. They must also commit to adopting paragraph 35 (b) and (c)^[21] discussed in Bonn at the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SB62) meeting in June 2025, which facilitates access to capacity-building activities for negotiators, particularly young people, in order to increase their power to act at COPs. Youth participation must not be symbolic but meaningful, in order to enable young people to have a real influence on climate policies and commitments.
Canada: Implement the principle of intergenerational equity through concrete mechanisms. The government must allocate specific financial and structural resources to support the active participation of young people, including those from remote communities, in climate action. This must include dedicated funding for their initiatives, capacity-building programs, and monitoring mechanisms to assess the effective inclusion of youth perspectives in climate policies.
^[22]Quebec: Create a permanent youth advisory committee on the environment in the National Assembly, which must be independent, representative, and adequately funded. Quebec youth are mobilizing and calling on the government to move from words to action by honoring its commitments.

9. Promote food sovereignty and agroecology

Food sovereignty and agroecological practices offer a set of responses to the problem of food insecurity, but also to the climate crisis. Food sovereignty helps combat environmental degradation and climate change by promoting sustainable agricultural practices that preserve natural resources and reduce the use of harmful fertilizers and pesticides; by producing more food locally, which reduces carbon emissions associated with the transportation of imported food; and opposing large-scale monocultures, which often lead to deforestation and soil degradation.

Local communities have in-depth knowledge of the ecosystems in which they live. This expertise is often the result of generations of interaction with the land and natural resources. It is crucial to integrate this knowledge and support the agroecological practices of local communities and NGOs to promote food security and combat climate change.

Currently, funding for biodiversity and climate protection neglects agroecological initiatives led by NGOs and local communities. These initiatives, which directly address local environmental and socio-economic challenges, should be supported not only with adequate funding, but also with simplified mechanisms for obtaining it.

In the context of COP30, we call on…

States:
- to recognize the importance of agroecological practices. These practices promote not only environmental sustainability, but also the food sovereignty of local communities.
- to ensure equitable and accessible financing. Northern countries must allocate sufficient financial resources and an appropriate financing framework that would facilitate the implementation of sustainable and innovative agroecological solutions by NGOs and local communities.

10. End the expansion and extraction of fossil fuels

The current climate crisis is mainly due to fossil fuels. Indeed, fossil fuels are responsible for more than 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions^[23] and their continued exploitation seriously undermines efforts to combat climate change. A gradual but determined phase-out of coal, oil, and natural gas is essential to reduce the devastating impacts already being observed: extreme weather events, rising sea levels, biodiversity loss, and food insecurity, which disproportionately affect the most vulnerable populations, particularly in the Global South. Without this firm commitment, the goals of the Paris Agreement will remain unattainable, perpetuating climate injustices and jeopardizing the future of current and future generations. Emissions reduction is an obligation, not an option, and countries in the North must present urgent plans to phase out fossil fuels.

In the context of COP30, we call on…

States, including Canada, to: Strengthen the global commitment to phase out fossil fuels and support the implementation of a just and equitable transition away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy.

11. Ensure greater consideration and participation of persons with disabilities in climate decisions and action.

Despite growing recognition of the impact of climate change on people with disabilities, this awareness has not yet translated into concrete policies tailored to their specific needs. This is particularly worrying given that nearly one billion people worldwide live with a disability, 80% of whom live in low- and middle-income countries.^[24]

The exclusion of this vulnerable population from climate policies is striking: 80% of the parties to the Paris Agreement make no mention of persons with disabilities in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Of the 39 parties that do mention them, only 15 include concrete measures for disability inclusion.

This systemic neglect perpetuates the vulnerability of persons with disabilities (especially women with disabilities) to climate change and ignores their specific challenges. Yet their inclusion in climate action is essential to ensuring equitable, effective, and human rights-respecting policies.

In the context of COP30, we call on…

States to:
- integrate specific references and measures concerning persons with disabilities into their policies;
- ensure the participation of persons with disabilities, including women with disabilities, in climate decision-making processes, through the creation of an official constituency for persons with disabilities;
Canada: to develop calls for proposals that include disability considerations and require leadership from persons with disabilities in international climate finance

Presentation of AQOCI

A non-profit organization, the Association québécoise des organismes de coopération internationale (AQOCI) brings together more than 70 organizations working abroad, in Quebec, and in Canada for sustainable, viable, and humane development. AQOCI is an active member of Quebec civil society and provides leadership to Quebec and Canadian political authorities on international cooperation and solidarity. AQOCI has participated in the annual COP climate conferences since 2018 and also attended COP15 and COP16 on biodiversity.

AQOCI.QC.CA | #AQOCIBelem2025

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References

^[1] Women & Gender Constituency. May 13, 2025. A Robust and Progressive Gender Action Plan: An Urgent, Key Milestone for the COP30 Presidency.

^[2] Canadian Coalition on Climate Change and Development (C4D). June 2024. Setting Canada’s Five-Year International Climate Finance Pledge for 2026/27 to 2030/31: An Ambitious Good-Faith Contribution to Canada’s Fair Share.

^[3] Climate COP, Biodiversity COP, Desertification COP, international negotiations for an international treaty against plastic pollution.

^[4] Ciel. June 2025. Reclaiming Climate Justice: United Call for an Urgent Reform of the UN Climate Talks.

^[5] The Club of Rome. November 2024. Open Letter on COP reform to All States that are Parties to the Convention

^[6] Ciel. June 2025. Reclaiming Climate Justice: United Call for an Urgent Reform of the UN Climate Talks

^[7] IPCC. 2023. Climate Change 2023. Synthesis Report

^[8]PIRESS. 2025. COP-Climate and COP-Biodiversity: What synergies exist and how can we benefit from them?

^[9] IPBES. 2019. Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.