While the world bakes in record heat, American climate activists showed up in force at COP30, refusing to let another climate summit slide into empty promises.
Karenna Gore and fellow North American climate leaders didn’t just show up – they brought receipts. Hard data confirming we blew past the 1.5°C warming threshold in 2024. First time ever. Not exactly champagne-worthy news.
These activists weren’t just doom-scrolling, though. They pushed a surprisingly optimistic message: we’ve got better tech, better data, and better alternatives than ever before. The tools are there. The willpower? That’s another story.
The tech exists, the data is solid, the alternatives work. What we’re missing isn’t innovation—it’s backbone.
American groups teamed up with indigenous leaders like Puyr Tembé from Brazil and Patricia Gualinga from Ecuador. These women aren’t playing around when it comes to protecting forests. Ancestral knowledge combined with modern activism – turns out that’s a pretty potent mix against illegal logging and mining operations.
WECAN International organized several events that emphasized women-led solutions to biodiversity and climate crises, with a particular focus on the Amazon region.
The elephant in the room? Corporate polluters trying to hijack the climate talks. Again. American activists joined Global Witness and others demanding fossil fuel interests get kicked out of policy decisions. Crazy concept: maybe don’t let arsonists design the fire code?
Human rights became a major focus for American participants, who co-signed open letters evaluating COP30’s Host Country Agreement. Their message was clear – climate solutions can’t trample vulnerable communities. Novel idea, right?
U.S.-affiliated groups didn’t just complain. They presented actual strategies: community-led restoration, reforestation, empowering marginalized communities.
Women and Indigenous leaders took center stage in these discussions. Turns out the people closest to the problem might have some decent ideas about solving it.
Many activists highlighted how January 2025 temperatures reached an alarming 1.75°C increase above historical averages, further emphasizing the urgency of their mission.
The climate crisis isn’t waiting for perfect political conditions. Despite the looming uncertainty of American climate leadership, these activists showed up anyway.
Because waiting isn’t an option when your house is already on fire.
The final Regional Dialogue held in New York gathered twenty-one leaders committed to strengthening collective action ahead of the COP30 negotiations in Belém, Brazil.
References
- https://cop30.br/en/news-about-cop30/north-american-leaders-weigh-climate-strategies-in-final-global-ethical-stocktake-dialogue
- https://www.wecaninternational.org/cop30
- https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/people-in-polluters-out-join-global-witness-at-cop30/
- https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/ior40/0395/2025/en/
- https://www.france24.com/en/environment/20251026-whats-at-stake-brazil-belem-cop30-un-climate-change-summit
