It’s time to end fossil fuel expansion in the Amazon rainforest

Lena Estrada Añokazi, a former Colombian minister of the environment and sustainable development and an Indigenous leader of the Uitoto-Minika people from the Colombian Amazon.

With 198 countries gearing up for COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the climate negotiations table should be filled with strong, actionable proposals, and also stand against some deeply troubling ones. Perhaps the most absurd is the claim that fossil fuel extraction must continue in Latin America and the Caribbean to fund the transformation needed for sustainable development. 

Throughout my life, I've heard firsthand accounts from my Indigenous siblings in the Colombian Amazon who have been directly impacted by oil extraction. The scars left by fossil fuel operations are painfully similar to those left by the rubber boom in my own territory, in La Chorrera, where my Uitoto-Minika community lives.

Oil companies have frequently moved forward without respecting the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of our People, systematically violating human, territorial, and environmental rights.

The search for oil has deforested, polluted, disrupted livelihoods, and fueled violence, while concentrating wealth in the hands of a few. These are not pathways to development; it is the continuation of colonialism, replicated across the Amazon.

In Colombia, we are taking action rooted in both science and the knowledge systems of Indigenous Peoples. We are not afraid to break the chains of colonialism to reduce dependence on oil and invest in diversifying our energy matrix.

Decades of oil and gas extraction have shown us that expanding fossil fuel activities in the Amazon is not economically, socially, or environmentally viable.

High operational costs, combined with our accelerating domestic energy transition, make new fossil fuel projects in the Colombian Amazon increasingly unnecessary, threatening both fiscal stability and our nation’s long-term energy and climate goals.

In line with this strategy, in 2023 President Gustavo Petro announced the suspension of new oil contracts in Colombia, a declaration made during the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) Summit—the only socio-environmental bloc in Latin America, which met that year in Brazil.

With the upcoming Summit on August 22, heads of Amazonian States must seize this unique opportunity to stop oil and gas expansion in the region, and work towards a plan for transitioning away from fossil fuels.

For the Amazon, that means turning away from colonial and extractivist models that, for decades, have driven deforestation and destruction, especially the expansion of oil and gas.

Science has shown this is pushing the Amazon to a tipping point, putting the future of our planet at risk. Fossil fuels are the number one cause of global greenhouse gas emissions.

While halting deforestation is absolutely crucial, the science is clear: we will not meet the Paris Agreement goals without transitioning away from fossil fuels. This transition should be made in an orderly manner, but it has to start now and requires political will.

Strengthening regional cooperation is vital if we are to prevent the Amazon from reaching a tipping point that would trigger a global climate collapse. Beyond political will, we must define concrete actions and a feasible timeline so that, together, we can advance a just and inclusive energy transition.

Therefore, it is both urgent and possible to create fossil fuel-free priority zones to protect ecosystems critical to life on Earth—starting with the Amazon.

Furthermore, for Amazonian countries and across the Global South, to fully achieve a just energy transition, we must address another urgent challenge: climate finance.

There is no question that the international financial architecture must be reformed. Today, it continues to reflect and reproduce colonialist logic.

Climate finance flows are insufficient. More than two-thirds of global climate funds now come in the form of loans, which deepens the debt crisis in the most vulnerable nations.

Tied to austerity policies, these loans often force countries to prioritize debt repayment over investments in climate mitigation and adaptation or even basic social rights. Meanwhile, less than 1% of climate funds go directly to Indigenous Peoples.

Direct access to funding for Indigenous Peoples is vital, ensuring that those who have historically been protecting the forest can lead in determining how resources are used.

It's time for Amazonian countries to take the lead in their own energy transitions, creating our own path instead of simply following one imposed by the Global North.

That means transitioning away from fossil fuels, international financial reform, increasing cooperation between countries, and ensuring the meaningful participation of Indigenous Peoples in decision making. The future of the forest, and of the planet, depends on the choices we make now.