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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/05/a-meeting-of-voices-flotillas-head-into-belem-ahead-of-cop30-climate-summit>
"A day into a river voyage between Santarém and Belém, a dozen or so passengers
on the
Karolina do Norte move excitedly to the port side of the boat to see
the cafe au lait-coloured waters of the Amazon river mix with the darker,
clearer currents of the Xingu.
“That confluence is like the people on this boat,” said Thais Santi. “All from
different river basins, but coming together for this journey.”
Santi, a public prosecutor from the frontier municipality of Altamira, is one
of more than 100 participants, along with Indigenous leaders, climate
scientists, artists, youth activists, doctors and other forest defenders.
For each of the three nights, the majority sleep in hammocks strung across the
second deck like two tightly arranged rows of chrysalises. During the day,
there is a packed “forest university” programme of panel discussions, music and
film. Some were even fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of river dolphins.
The Voyage to Resist the End of the World was arranged by the Amazon news
organisation
Sumaúma (of which this writer is a founder) and the
Santarem-based NGO, Health and Happiness. It is one of several fluvial civil
society activities that aim to make the colour, flavour and sound of Cop30
unlike anything seen in the history of climate summits.
Recent conferences have been dominated by corporate lobbyists and billionaires
who fly in on private jets. In the authoritarian petrostates of Dubai and
Azerbaijian, protest has either been forbidden or strictly limited.
Brazil, on the other hand, has said civil society must play a fundamental role
in pushing negotiators to be more ambitious.
This conference desperately needs a helping hand. Last week, the
secretary-general of the United Nations, António Guterres, acknowledged that it
was now inevitable that the world will miss the target of limiting global
heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels because national plans to cut
emissions have fallen far short of what was needed. He urged delegates to
“change course” to prevent the Amazon rainforest from becoming a savannah."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
