COP30 marked Earth Refuge’s first time attending the Conference of the Parties – and what a place to begin: Belém, in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon. We arrived curious, cautious, and keen to listen. Our goal was simple but ambitious: bring the perspective of UK civil society into global conversations on climate and migrant justice, and elevate the voices and experiences of communities already responding to climate (im)mobility.
More than 100 civil society organisations signed our Open Letter – drafted under the banner of the Climate and Migrant Justice Organising (CMJ) Policy Working Group – to UK government representatives and COP negotiators, urging them to safeguard both the right to stay and the right to move in the face of escalating climate impacts.
With this mandate, we set out to raise the profile of climate mobility in rooms where the conversation often remains tightly focused on emissions and temperature pathways. We also went to learn; from communities, organisations, scholars, and activists working at the intersection of climate and migration across the world.
Expanding Legal Protections for Climate-Displaced Populations
At an event facilitated by our colleagues at RESAMA (Rede Sul-Americana para as Migrações Ambientais / South American Network for Environmental Migration) and hosted off-site at the Instituto Hounsou de Integração África-Amazônia, we witnessed first-hand the extraordinary work led by founder Israel, originally from Benin. Only a few years ago, the state of Pará had almost no infrastructure in place to support new arrivals; today it is recognised as Brazil’s most welcoming state for migrants. A progressive national migration law – easing processes such as marriage registration and access to essential rights – has made a material difference.
We were struck by Marilia Papaléo Gagliardi’s overview of RéSAMA’s Latin American network, which has mapped climate-related displacement cases across the region. The parallels with our own Climate Mobility Case Database were clear, and we are excited about what future collaboration could bring.
We also heard from Gabriela Nagle Alverio of the Beyond Climate Collaborative, who highlighted how FEMA funding patterns in the United States can influence who is able to rebuild after disasters – revealing stark racialised inequities in who stays, who moves, and who is forced into precarity.
Climate displacement solutions: bridging research and lived experiences
This session, which we co-hosted with the Beyond Climate Collaborative and the Yale Student Environmental Coalition, was built as a sharing circle – intimate, reflective, and deeply grounding. Bella Mosselmans of the Global Strategic Litigation Council emphasised strategic litigation as one tool among many, alongside activism and storytelling. Her intervention underscored the power of communities driving legal action themselves, and echoed what we see globally: different places, but similar struggles.
Interestingly, a recurring theme at COP30 and at this sharing circle was the oversimplification of climate mobility. We often heard, “Well, why not just address the causes?” But climate-induced migration is already happening, and affected communities have long been working to address root causes. The real barrier is political will – or, too often, political negligence. Reducing the issue to a single lever obscures the structural realities at play.
Political issues of environmental migration in the era of the rise of extremist parties
This may have been the most eye-opening panel we participated in. Moderated by Lauren Grant, founding executive director of the Beyond Climate Collaborative, and joined by Gabriela Nagle Alverio, Daniela Alba, Ibrahim Mbamoko, and Zenaida Luisa Lauda Rodriguez, the conversation traced the links between climate stress, political extremism, racism, and narratives of “threat” around migration.
We raised the situation facing residents of Hemsby on the Norfolk coast, where repeated erosion has left communities unprotected. We learned about the role of ecofascist ideology in several mass shootings – a sobering reminder of how violently climate discourse can be distorted and indeed, weaponised.
Yet the panel left us energised rather than defeated. Every contributor had come prepared with deep research, sharp analysis, and compassion. Many audience members told us afterwards that they felt seen, validated, and safe. That, ultimately, is why we were at COP.
Advancing climate justice: legal, artistic, and community responses
In a vast circle bringing together voices from Bangladesh, Australia, Puerto Rico, Pakistan and beyond, this session felt like a global tapestry of stories, strategies, and creative resistance. Art as preservation; art as activism; law as empowerment; practice as care. Everyone contributed with vulnerability, generosity, and courage. It was a highlight of our week.
We were due to speak at two further events at the Senegal and Uganda pavilions on 20 November, but these were understandably cancelled following the fire that broke out in the neighbouring pavilion.
Belém and the realities of COP30
The people of Belém welcomed us with warmth, generosity, and guidance at every turn. For this we are deeply grateful.
The militarisation of the summit, however, was impossible to ignore – especially upon our arrival in week two, after protests and counter-protests. While Indigenous voices were centred in many side events and community spaces we attended, this was far from the case across the broader summit: entry to the Blue Zone remained restricted, and Indigenous representation in the negotiation rooms was, once again, painfully thin.
Climate Rights International captured the contradictions of Brazil’s role well: a government promising to protect the Amazon while simultaneously expanding oil and gas ambitions. Their analysis highlights the gap between rhetoric and reality – a climate-leading narrative sitting uneasily alongside approvals for new exploration.
Negotiations: small wins, serious losses
The reaction from civil society has been clear and consistent:
Fill the Fund noted that while fossil fuel interests “bought silence” in the COP30 text, they cannot silence mobilised communities. Their assessment echoes a central frustration: despite progress on some fronts, finance – particularly for loss and damage – was left hollow. Harjeet Singh summarised the outcome succinctly:
- A roadmap to end fossil fuels: won.
- A commitment to a Just Transition: won.
- Adequate finance: failed.
He warned that rich nations are “trying to escape their legal and moral obligations” by offering “vacuous pledges” instead of concrete commitments. The structure for action now exists; the task is to force those responsible to fund it.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
WWF highlighted “small wins” – incremental advances in language on fossil fuel phase-out and climate adaptation – but stressed that core goals remain “out of reach” without far stronger ambition and financing.
Colombia: mixed reactions
Colombia’s announcement of a parallel fossil-fuel-focused conference, to be held on Indigenous land in 2026, cast a long shadow. Many observers saw it as incompatible with the spirit of COP30. Local communities expressed disappointment at both the timing and the symbolism: a climate conference winding down while a fossil-fuel conference is prepared on their territory.
The UK’s post-COP pledge
Following COP30, the UK government announced it would not licence additional new oil and gas fields. However, as reported by Reuters, several previously approved fields will still go ahead, and the government is maintaining its current tax regime. The pledge represents movement – but not the decisive shift required to align with global 1.5°C pathways.
Looking ahead
Whatever the shortcomings of international negotiations, we remain committed to our work. Across panels, circles, and conversations, we found powerful alignment: communities are organising; researchers are advancing the evidence; litigators are pushing boundaries; artists are preserving memory; activists are standing firm.
Earth Refuge, alongside colleagues around the world, is already planning initiatives for 2026 and beyond. Our commitment to climate mobility justice – to the right to stay, the right to move, and the right to dignity – has only deepened.
Belém gave us clarity, connection, and conviction. Most importantly, it reminded us that solutions already exist within communities. Our role is to amplify, collaborate, and protect the space for those solutions to thrive.