COP31 must amplify people power, not oil lobby voices

The climate crisis is also a human rights crisis – claiming lives and turning life upside down for countless communities across the world.

But while those profiting from fossil fuel expansion retain privileged access and influence over global climate negotiations, the people facing its harshest consequences, such as Indigenous Peoples or those living in climate-vulnerable communities, remain largely shut out of the decision-making.

As directors of Amnesty International in Brazil, Türkiye and Australia, countries with a leading role in COP30 and COP31, we have seen how effective climate action depends on people being able to speak, organise, protest and participate.

Last year in Belém, fossil fuel lobbyists outnumbered every national delegation except Brazil’s, exposing the imbalance of power within climate negotiations. COP31 should confront corporate capture and expand public participation. Instead, serious concerns have been raised over whether civil society will be able to speak freely and safely in Türkiye.

Rights curbs supercharge climate breakdown

Yet, the human rights needed to confront this crisis and demand justice are being eroded.

Authoritarian practices are supercharging climate breakdown by restricting protest, silencing defenders and shielding fossil fuel interests from scrutiny. Attacks on women, LGBTI+ people or members of other marginalised communities divide societies, weaken collective action and divert public attention while fossil fuel expansion continues.

That is why the assault on civic space in Türkiye, the host of COP31, should alarm every government preparing to attend the summit.

In September, Turkish authorities launched a nationwide operation targeting LGBTI+ organisations, activists and human rights defenders. Homes, venues and offices were raided, people were arrested and imprisoned, and social media accounts belonging to activists, journalists and human rights groups were restricted, including that of Amnesty International Türkiye.

This is part of a decade-long crackdown that has weakened judicial independence, ignored international judgments and restricted peaceful assembly, association and expression. Whoever is targeted, the effect is the same: dissent is silenced and fear spreads.

For COP31 to succeed, Türkiye must end its human rights crackdown.

“*For COP31 to succeed, Türkiye must end its human rights crackdown. *“

Worrying signals from co-host Türkiye

Against this backdrop, the agreement between Türkiye and the UN on hosting COP31 is alarming.

Article 11.11 requires participants to respect Türkiye’s laws and regulations and refrain from interfering in its “internal affairs”. Article 11.12 reintroduces language on waiving immunity that was omitted from Brazil’s COP30 agreement.

Turkish authorities are already invoking vague notions of “public morality” and “harm to the family” to investigate people and restrict expression. The agreement could therefore have a chilling effect on activists, defenders and journalists.

Could criticism of Türkiye’s fossil fuel policies, its treatment of environmental defenders or its crackdown on LGBTI+ organizations be characterised as interference in “internal affairs”? Nobody attending a UN climate conference should have to ask.

Türkiye and the UN should publicly guarantee that participants can speak, organise, report and protest peacefully without discrimination, intimidation, surveillance, detention or reprisals. Governments ought to challenge the agreement’s flaws before arriving in Antalya.

Brazil offered progress, but not perfection

COP31 must build on Brazil’s approach. Its COP hosting agreement committed to an inclusive and non-discriminatory conference, while its presidency adopted a more open and participatory tone. COP30 saw record participation by Indigenous Peoples, but access did not guarantee influence: many key decisions continued to be shaped behind closed doors.

Commitments made in Belém ultimately depend on domestic political choices, and Brazil’s October election results point to a legislature that may be less willing to uphold them. This could put the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Quilombola and traditional communities at greater risk.

When protections at home weaken, international spaces become even more vital for affected populations to speak out, and hold decision-makers accountable. COP31 must guarantee freedom of expression and peaceful assembly outside the “Blue Zone” (the UN-protected area) and grant civil society greater access to negotiations.

Environmental defenders are driving change

As documented by Amnesty International, communities resisting fossil fuel expansion and building fairer alternatives are facing harassment, surveillance, criminalization, disinformation, violence and restrictions on peaceful protest. They include: First Nations people in Australia challenging offshore oil and gas exploration, artisanal fishers in Brazil’s Guanabara Bay fighting for environmental justice, and activists defending Akbelen Forest in Türkiye from coal mining expansion.

These communities are rights-holders, knowledge-bearers, and political actors protecting territories and forging effective climate responses. Governments must protect them and ensure they have a meaningful say.

Discover more stories of environmental human rights defenders around the world who are standing up for people and the planet:

Protecting our Future: Environmental Human Rights Defenders Powering Just Transitions

COP31 must confront fossil fuel power

To protect human rights, governments must use COP31 to advance three urgent priorities.

First, they must end fossil fuel expansion and accelerate a full, fast, fair, funded and human rights-compliant transition away from fossil fuels. States most responsible must go further and faster, ending fossil fuel subsidies and redirecting public resources towards rights-respecting renewable energy.

Second, they must ensure the transition protects rights and leaves no one behind, including by making the Just Transition Mechanism operational, funded and accountable.

And third, they must scale up public, grants-based climate finance for mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage, without pushing lower-income countries further into debt.

COP31 will not deliver these outcomes without the knowledge and expertise of front-line communities.

Brazil must defend the participatory progress made at COP30. Türkiye must reverse its crackdown and protect civic space. Australia, as president of negotiations, should secure an ambitious, human rights-centred outcome while confronting restrictions on peaceful climate protest at home.

The climate crisis cannot be solved behind closed doors. The doors must remain open, and people must have the power to shape what happens inside.

“The climate crisis cannot be solved behind closed doors. The doors must remain open, and people must have the power to shape what happens inside.”

Read our recommendations on climate action at COP31:

Recommendations to Parties to the UNFCCC on climate action in 2026

This Opinion Piece was first published by Climate Home News

The post COP31 must amplify people power, not oil lobby voices appeared first on Amnesty International.