A month before the start of COP30, Brazil\u2019s fuel exploration regulator, the National Petroleum Agency (ANP), had also announced<\/a> the inclusion of 275 new oil and gas blocks in an auction scheduled for 2026. The decision brought the total number of areas under permanent offer since June to 451. According to the Arayara Institute, some of these overlap with Indigenous territories and conservation units. <\/p>\n At the same time, Brazil\u2019s delegation will showcase two ambitious measures at the Bel\u00e9m conference: the Open Coalition for Carbon Market Integration<\/a> and the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF). Both are designed to establish the value of standing forest, thus turning conservation into an income opportunity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Recommended<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n The coalition\u2019s proposal takes into account that more than 70%<\/a> of Brazil\u2019s carbon credit projects are in the Amazon. The revenue from their sale could potentially reach USD 21.6 billion<\/a> by 2030. The TFFF \u2013 the Brazilian government\u2019s pride and joy for COP30<\/a> \u2013 proposes an enhanced model of financing for forests which, instead of only rewarding countries for reductions in deforestation, provides payments for the ongoing preservation of forested areas. At the United Nations General Assembly in September, the Brazilian government announced<\/a> a contribution of USD 1 billion to the fund. A total of USD 125 billion is expected from other sources.<\/p>\n Repeated promises, timid action<\/p>\n This gap between rhetoric and practice is not unique to Brazil. Across the region, Amazonian governments have reaffirmed<\/a> environmental commitments and sought green investments, while cooperation and concrete, enduring results on preservation remain limited.<\/p>\n In August, the Summit of Presidents of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty in Bogot\u00e1, Colombia, brought together its eight member countries to reinforce a common protection agenda for the biome. The resulting Bogot\u00e1 Declaration<\/a> features commitments on technical cooperation, combating environmental crimes and strengthening the presence of the state (especially in border areas), as well as actions to halt and reverse deforestation.<\/p>\n The declaration represented the \u201creactivation of an important diplomatic process that could lead to common agreements for preservation,\u201d according to Ilan Zugman, who directs the Latin America and Caribbean region at 350.org, an NGO working to end fossil fuel dependence.<\/p>\n Still, according to observers and organisations that followed the summit, the declaration has significant omissions. Those observers interviewed by Dialogue Earth consider the text a missed opportunity<\/a> to recognise oil and gas exploration as one of the main threats to the Amazon. The lack of concrete targets, including on ending deforestation, also caused frustration<\/a> among participants. If the Bogot\u00e1 Declaration serves as a barometer for COP30, the sensitive issue of fossil fuels could be left out of the discussions.<\/p>\n \u201cThe generic language of the declaration is clear evidence of the region\u2019s difficulty in reconciling rhetoric with practice, especially in the debate on fossil fuels,\u201d says Karla Maass, advocacy advisor for the Climate Action Network Latin America.<\/p>\n During the summit, Lula defended<\/a> the Amazon as a unified region, and multilateralism as the way to tackle the climate crisis. For Maass, the recognition of this unity \u2013 albeit largely rhetorical \u2013 is a particular geopolitical feature of the biome. She notes, however, that this view is rarely reflected in multilateral forums, such as the COPs, where issues such as fossil fuel exploitation often divide<\/a> the region\u2019s governments and lead them to different negotiating blocs.<\/p>\n \u201cAs different perceptions of the Amazon coexist in the region, national proposals do not always converge,\u201d says Maass. \u201cEven when the forest is used as a bargaining chip in negotiations, each country uses it in its own way.\u201d<\/p>\n Internal divisions intensify<\/p>\n On the eve of COP30, pressure is also growing from some parliamentarians in Amazonian countries to end fossil fuels. On 8 October, representatives from six South American nations delivered<\/a> a report<\/a> to the Brazilian government on the \u201cprofound\u201d damage caused by five decades of industry in the Amazon. Meanwhile, nearly 800 legislators have signed an open letter<\/a> calling for a fossil fuel-free future for the region.<\/p>\n Among the proposals, presented by the multinational coalition Parliamentarians for a Fossil Fuel-Free Future<\/a>, is the creation of a joint moratorium on the expansion of mining and fossil fuel extraction throughout the Amazon biome. The measure has regional support, but so far only five countries \u2013 Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Brazil \u2013 have presented bills on the subject in their respective parliaments.<\/p>\n In Colombia, President Gustavo Petro vetoed<\/a> the signing of new oil and gas exploration contracts in 2023, maintaining only those contracts already in force. The decision marked a turning point in the country\u2019s energy policy, but the future is uncertain: Petro cannot run for re-election in 2026, as per the constitution, and Colombia\u2019s fragmented<\/a> political landscape could unravel his legacy.<\/p>\n Juan Carlos Lozada, a Colombian MP and member of Parliamentarians for a Fossil Fuel-Free Future, tells Dialogue Earth that while Petro\u2019s policies already function, in practice, as a moratorium, \u201clegal mechanisms to make them sustainable in the long term\u201d are needed. Despite political resistance, Lozada believes Colombia can move forward with this agenda: \u201cIn Colombia, we could reach an agreement to ban future exploration, at least in the Amazon.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, exploration continues to gain momentum: between 2022 and 2024, the region accounted<\/a> for about 20% of oil reserve discoveries worldwide. This has consolidated its position as one of the primary frontiers for expansion. As a result, Amazonian governments continue to promote these sectors.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Recommended<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n In August, President Lula partially vetoed<\/a> a legal proposal dubbed the \u201cDevastation Bill\u201d by its opponents, blocking some of its most controversial provisions. The rest of the bill is now law and has loosened Brazil\u2019s environmental licensing requirements; a key clause that accelerates the approval of projects considered to be strategic \u2013 even those with large environmental impacts \u2013 remains in place. According to the Arayara Institute, more than 2,600 fossil fuel projects could benefit from the law<\/a>.<\/p>\n To the north, Guyana \u2013 a country where large areas of territory lie within the Amazon \u2013 discovered massive oil reserves in 2015. Though almost all of its production is now found offshore, the country is transforming into a global oil power, with exploration has been advancing at a rapid pace<\/a>.<\/p>\n Guyana\u2019s president, Irfaan Ali, has repeatedly said oil is essential for national development and for financing<\/a> the energy transition. He promised to continue expanding<\/a> production and exploration upon his re-election in September.<\/p>\n Maass notes that in Amazonian countries, the prevailing narrative is \u201cthat extractive exploitation of the forest is necessary, even to get the resources needed to keep the forest standing.\u201d She says the region has historically been treated as a supplier of raw materials and \u201cgovernments still cannot see a way out of their dependence on natural resources.\u201d<\/p>\n Gas flares operate near a residential area in Enokanki, in the Ecuadorian province of Orellana. In October, a coalition of parliamentarians from six Amazonian countries proposed a joint moratorium on drilling in the forest, as the region already suffers the damage from decades of oil and gas operations (Image: Patricio Ter\u00e1n \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/p>\n The pressure on the Amazon goes far beyond fossil fuels. Activities such as mining, agriculture and livestock farming have also spread. According to the land monitoring initiative Mapbiomas, more than 88 million hectares<\/a> of Amazonian forest were destroyed between 1985 and 2023.<\/p>\n Economic expansion in the Amazon has been accompanied by an escalation of illegal activities<\/a> that take advantage of gaps in law enforcement and the absence of the state. In border areas, deforestation, mining and drug trafficking are intertwined in networks that move billions<\/a> of Brazilian reais\u2019 worth of goods and money, increasing pressure on communities and preserved forests. \u201cOften, countries do not have sufficient budget and resources to combat these groups,\u201d says Zugman.<\/p>\n It is in this context that cooperation initiatives such as the TFFF gain relevance. But while the fund has been presented as an opportunity to align economic and environmental interests among Amazonian countries, experts warn its effectiveness will depend on the commitment of governments. As Zugman says: \u201cIf countries want to use the forest as a bargaining chip \u2013 in a good way, to reach more ambitious agreements \u2013 they also need to invest more in its conservation. It is not enough to just put the Amazon on display.\u201d<\/p>\n Observers also warn that, to avoid following previous promises that never got off the ground, the TFFF will need to combine transparency and participation by local populations to have a real impact.<\/p>\n![\"Procession](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Cirio-de-Nazare-boats_Ricardo-Stuckert_Flickr_54061489759-scaled.jpg\")
Procession of boats during the C\u00edrio de Nazar\u00e9, a Catholic celebration in the Brazilian city of Bel\u00e9m, October 2024. Amid logistical challenges and limited hotel space, boats have been offered up as accommodation options for international delegates at November\u2019s COP30 summit (Image: Ricardo Stuckert<\/a> \/ Pal\u00e1cio do Planalto<\/a>, CC BY ND<\/a>)<\/p>\n![\"Aerial](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/20240406_aerial_flares-near-Enokanki-parish_Orellana-Ecuador_Patricio-Teran_Dialogue-Earth.jpg\")
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