Call for climate action in Belém expands to call for free Palestine
Thousands of activists marched in Belém, linking climate justice, indigenous land rights, and Palestinian liberation. They believe it’s all tied to the same colonial and imperial systems
In the sweltering heat of Belém's streets, Ariadne Telles held a huge Palestinian flag alongside dozens of others, shouting slogans for a free Palestine. Tens of thousands like her flooded the streets, defying the Amazonian humidity under a merciless, scorching sun.
As thousands joined the People's March, protesters from around the world brought their own agendas into this single climate march.
COP30 is now at its halfway point, taking place in the Brazilian city of Belém — often described as the mouth of the Amazon. The Guamá River runs beside the city, and once you cross it, you begin to sense what the Amazon looks and feels like.
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A roughly 10-minute boat ride to the river island of Ilha do Combu brings you essentially into the heart of the Amazon. You may not spot the gigantic anacondas, but you are already in one of the region's major acai-producing zones. Acai, a small purple berry from the Amazon's acai palm, is a staple across northern Brazil. Its rich, thick pulp is eaten daily as an energy-packed meal or drink.
But how are climate justice and Palestinian liberation connected?
"There is no climate justice without land justice. Today we march for a free Palestine because it is an occupied territory. We need all the terror to end, and the land to be free," said Ariadne Telles, a human rights lawyer from Amazonia who hails from the Bolivian-border region of Brazil.
Telles was one of the global activists detained by Israeli authorities last month during an attempt to break the siege on Gaza, as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla — a fleet of boats braving the Mediterranean en route to Palestine.
"I was imprisoned in Israel for trying to break the illegal siege on Gaza. I was part of the Brazilian delegation organising this protest, and we will not stop until Palestine and all its people are free," she noted.
Ariadne mentioned that, coming from the Amazon, she faces a similar struggle.
"In my city, we see drones and helicopters bought by the government to criminalise land defenders — indigenous people, peasants, small farmers — anyone resisting capitalism and the exploitation of our territories. Our solidarity can change the world," she said.
"We are not suffering what Palestinians are suffering right now, but their resistance is for all of us. The future of Gaza is the future of all of us," she added.
As the march progressed, loudspeakers across different sections of the rally blared calls for climate justice.
"We can no longer produce, and we can no longer live with all this rain arriving at the wrong time — with floods, with food shortages, and with prices soaring whenever there are fires," the speakers announced. "Every day on television, we see the same thing: more and more areas burning."
"We are here to declare that the climate march is happening — not only here, but across the entire country and around the world. Today is the Global Climate March," one speaker proclaimed, setting the rhythm of the demonstration.
Brazilian organisers estimated that around 50,000 people had attended the rally. While global leaders navigated delicate negotiations at a snail's pace in the COP30 Blue Zone, just a few kilometers from the protests, the people took to the streets for climate justice with urgency and without compromise.
I was imprisoned in Israel for trying to break the illegal siege on Gaza. I was part of the Brazilian delegation organising this protest, and we will not stop until Palestine and all its people are free. There is no climate justice without land justice. Today we march for a free Palestine because it is an occupied territory. We need all the terror to end, and the land to be free.
Luke Nicolas joined the rally from the Philippines, more than 30 hours' flight away on the other side of the planet.
"We're here to push for a rapid, just, and equitable transition. We must end this 'business as usual' mindset, where corporations deny we are facing an existential crisis and continue to prioritise profit," Luke said.
"What we need now is action — reducing carbon emissions, shifting to renewable energy, and restructuring society itself. We must think about people instead of profit. If we don't abandon capitalist logic, the whole world will collapse," he added.
Jana attended the rally from Germany as part of an organisation called 'Step for Climate' — a global South–led grassroots movement calling for the cancellation of climate debt for Global South countries.
"We're showing how debt is fueling the climate crisis, and how the climate crisis and financial crisis are deeply connected," Jana said.
"It's a colonial trap. That's why we're here, demanding debt cancellation for the Global South and a broader transformation of the global financial system, because the current one is built on exploitation."
With her was Scarlet, a Romanian who now lives in France.
"I live in the heart of capitalism, in one of the most powerful countries for negotiations and decision-making. I'm part of the same movement," she said.
Scarlet expressed regret that her country follows the European Union's lead in negotiations, even when those proposals are "harmful." Eastern European countries have been deeply affected by aggressive capitalism, which is fueling the rise of the far right, she said. She added that they should have the right to manage their land and decide what they want, but their delegation is small and politically insignificant.
"That's why one of our central demands is clear: cancel the debts of Global South countries," Scarlet noted.
"They keep pushing neoliberal solutions like debt-for-climate swaps, and we're strongly against that. We're proposing citizen-led debt audits so countries can challenge and repudiate unjust and illegal debts instead of always begging for cancellation," Jana added, wearing a Palestinian headscarf.
Jana also highlighted the connection between Palestine and the climate struggle.
"The fight for sovereignty, for land, for survival, and against genocide is tied to the same colonial and imperial systems we are resisting. It's the same struggle," she said.
For thousands of Brazilian citizens joining the protests, it was a powerful moment to make their voices heard on protecting the Amazon.
"It's important for people to unite against the destruction of the Amazon. It matters because the Amazon belongs to the entire Earth. We need a collective struggle so that people can overcome this destruction," said Carlos Oliveira, a Brazilian citizen.
One of the most striking aspects of the rally was the march featuring symbolic coffins of coal, oil, and gas, carried by massive skeletons — eerie, gigantic figures in black robes, guarded by equally fierce-looking figures. One of these enormous skeletons was carried by Leandro Gustavo Vanderlei Coelho.
He comes from Vanderlândia, in the state of Tocantins, Brazil.
"We fight for the rights of rural people so that we can remain on our land, defend our rights, and push for laws that protect our communities: farmers, rural workers, Indigenous peoples, and traditional communities," Gustavo said.
Disclaimer: This story was produced as part of the 2025 Climate Change Media Partnership, a journalism fellowship organized by Internews' Earth Journalism Network and the Stanley Center for Peace and Security.
