At COP30, culture becomes part of the climate action agenda for the first time

The COP30 Presidency’s proposal aims to mobilize climate action from civil society and the private sector. This is only the third time that culture has been discussed within the Conference.

By Mayara Souto/COP30

In a session featuring artists and climate activists, culture took center stage in a debate led by Brazil’s Minister of Culture, Margareth Menezes, on Wednesday, 12 November. The event highlighted the power of culture to drive social mobilization around climate change. “This is the first time that culture has been included in the narratives of the Action Agenda as an important initiative to expand and mobilize. This is significant, as culture has enormous power to bring people together. We know how immense that power is,” she stated.

The Action Agenda is part of the COP’s climate negotiation framework and mobilizes voluntary action from civil society, businesses, investors, cities, states, and countries to intensify emissions reduction, promote climate adaptation, and advance the transition to sustainable economies, as set out in the Paris Agreement.

The role of culture as a political and climate actor was also emphasized by German parliamentarian and former Minister of Culture, Claudia Roth. “Culture is not something we need only in good times. We need culture and art because they are the voice of our democracy. And in the face of the climate crisis, culture must be a strong actor. Art and culture have the power to mobilize, to move us emotionally, to critique,” she said.

Political engagement

As an appeal for governments to end the use of fossil fuels, which are responsible for global warming, South African climate activist Kumi Naidoo delivered a performance and knelt before the audience. “We cannot pretend we are winning when we are losing. I want to kneel and appeal to the leaders of these negotiations: listen to the youth, to Indigenous peoples, to women, to those who have been saying ‘stop destroying the future of our children,’” he urged.

Naidoo also lamented that 86 percent of the causes of climate change are linked to countries’ dependence on fossil fuels. “The world and our leaders must unite and negotiate a binding treaty, a treaty on clean, non-polluting fuels that prevents their expansion,” he said, adding that Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been a strong advocate for advancing the energy transition.

Brazil’s First Lady, Janja Lula da Silva, reflected on the cultural significance of hosting the conference in the Amazon, a region defined by its diversity. “Speaking about culture and climate action is speaking about life, identity, resistance, and resilience of people and communities. President Lula decided to bring COP30 to the Amazon to bring the reality of this land. In this conference, we can show the world the reality of forest and rural peoples and our diversity. And through this cultural strength, we can find solutions to global challenges,” said the First Lady, who also serves as COP30 Special Envoy for Women.

Representation

For Yanomami Indigenous leader and climate activist Davi Kopenawa, the connection between land and nature is central to Indigenous culture. “We are children of the Earth. Our father created us with the earth, the forest, the moon, the stars, and the sun. We all have different cultures, but we must defend the land, health, language, culture, and everything that keeps us alive,” he affirmed.

As co-author of The Falling Sky—a manifesto on the destruction of the Amazon rainforest—Kopenawa recalled the work of the renowned Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado. His exhibition Amazônia portrays daily life in the region and was the result of seven years of expeditions across the Amazon, including in Yanomami lands where Kopenawa lives.

Brazilian filmmaker Juliano Salgado took part in the debate to speak about his father’s work. “His photographs show how water travels from the ocean to the Amazon, this extraordinary biodiversity with 32 trillion trees that produce the water sustaining life in Brazil. This forest is not the lungs of the country, it is the heart. And when we look at these photographs, we see how they connect the earth to the sky, which carries rain and humidity. That is what makes life possible,” he reflected.

The exhibition by Sebastião Salgado, who passed away at age 81 in May this year, was the last he produced. It can be visited at the Museu das Amazônias in Belém. The museum received an investment of R$20 million from the federal government for its construction and will remain as an important space for culture and science in the city.