By Esi-ife Arogundade
Belém, Brazil — The Just Transition Alliance (JTA) and the Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) have joined voices from across the Global South to demand genuine, people-centred climate solutions at the ongoing COP30 climate negotiations in Belém, Brazil.
The two leading environmental justice organisations are challenging what they describe as “false climate solutions” promoted by wealthy nations and corporations—initiatives that, they say, deepen climate colonialism and delay the phaseout of fossil fuels.
JTA and IEN are instead calling for a justice-based, frontline-led transition away from fossil fuels, anchored in enforceable global frameworks that protect workers, communities, and ecosystems.
Led by long-time environmental advocates José T. Bravo (JTA) and Thomas B.K. Goldtooth (IEN), the organisations are spotlighting the human and ecological toll of extractive economies—harms long familiar to African oil regions such as Nigeria’s Niger Delta.
They argue that real solutions must respect Indigenous Just Transition Principles, including Indigenous sovereignty, Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), and the ethical use of traditional Indigenous knowledge. Their advocacy is also guided by the Principles of Environmental Justice and the Bali Principles of Climate Justice, both of which resonate strongly with African communities on the frontlines of pollution, displacement, and loss of livelihoods.
According to the groups, a truly just transition must guarantee democratic participation in climate decision-making, especially for communities most affected by the crisis. These communities, they said, “hold the lived knowledge of life-affirming solutions” rooted in care economies, community resilience, and respect for the environment.
They are also urging direct, non-debt-creating finance for climate action – funding that allows frontline and Indigenous communities to determine their own priorities. In addition to finance, they stressed the importance of technology transfer, capacity building, and knowledge exchange, which would enable local communities to lead their own climate adaptation efforts.
The groups rejected the increasing push for “nature-based solutions”, carbon offsets, carbon capture and storage, and so-called “clean hydrogen” projects, describing them as greenwashing schemes that serve corporate interests while perpetuating pollution and injustice.
Throughout COP30, JTA and IEN have pledged to keep pressing for accountability from wealthy nations and corporate polluters for their historic and ongoing roles in environmental destruction—from the Americas to Africa.
Their message aligns with growing calls from African civil society groups for a fossil fuel phaseout and for climate finance that prioritises justice, equity, and community ownership—principles seen as essential to protecting people and the planet.
**JTA and IEN delegates and other organizational members are available for media inquiries and interviews.**
Media Contacts:
Catalina de Onís
Just Transition Alliance (JTA)
catalina@jtalliance.org
www.jtalliance.org
JoKay Dowell
Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN)
jokay@ienearth.org
www.ienearth.org
