in Brazil to put justice and reparations for people unfairly affected by the climate crisis, colonialism, and slavery at the centre of negotiations.

The signatories—including Brazil’s Instituto Luiz Gama and the Caribbean Pan African Network (CPAN)—called on organisers Friday to “centre the voices of Africans, people of African descent, and Indigenous Peoples” at the meeting, which will take place in Maloca, in the Brazilian Amazon, from November 10 to 21. “We call for justice for the countries and people of the world who have historically contributed the least to climate change, but who are often among the hardest hit by it,” the activists said in their letter.

They urged Brazil, as the host, along with other organisers, to “highlight” how climate justice is inseparable from reparations “for the histories and legacies of colonialism and enslavement.” The letter noted that Brazil is home to the largest population of people of African descent outside Africa and “among the largest populations of Indigenous Peoples in the world.”

The appeal also cited recent advisory opinions on climate justice from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which both “highlighted the vulnerabilities of Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities.” Importantly, the ICJ stressed that industrialised nations have a legal obligation to lead in combating climate change because of their greater historical responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions.

Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, rich countries pledged to help poorer nations adapt to the escalating climate crisis. Yet financial commitments remain far behind the $1.3 trillion developing countries say is needed to cover loss and damage caused by increasingly extreme weather events.

At last year’s COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, negotiators agreed to set a target of $300 billion in Loss and Damage financing to support developing nations. (Aljazeera)