To hold rising global temperatures in check, we know that the world must stop the use of coal, oil, and gas. That’s because climate change is driven by burning fossil fuels, which pumps greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and causes global warming.
By stopping the global addiction to fossil fuels, we also protect and preserve rainforests. These vibrant ecosystems, which store global carbon emissions and help prevent further warming, are an important natural ally in combatting the climate crisis.
Unfortunately, fossil fuel projects are a growing threat to the largest rainforest on the planet — the Amazon. Oil and gas exploration is yet another direct assault on a fragile ecosystem already under threat from agriculture, deforestation, and cattle ranching. Fossil fuel extraction can carve deep scars into the Amazon’s green heart, tearing through Indigenous lands and displacing entire communities.
These planned extractive projects and the forest degradation which will inevitably follow will weaken the Amazon Basin’s ability to store carbon and recycle rainwater, and will diminish its invaluable biodiversity, potentially creating a dangerous feedback loop. As the forest shrinks, it can no longer help absorb the emissions driving climate change, pushing the Amazon closer to a point beyond which it can’t recover.
To truly grasp the Amazon’s peril, we must confront the role of fossil fuels in both local destruction and global climate disruption. Without phasing out fossil fuels, there is no hope for protecting the Amazon, and global climate goals will remain out of reach.
But there’s hope — COP 30 is coming this November, and with it a chance to commit to changing course and tackling the climate crisis head on.
COP30: Ten Years Beyond the Paris Agreement
In 2015, world leaders signed the landmark Paris Agreement and committed to take action to keep global warming to 1.5°C or less. It was a historic promise, but a decade later, we’re seeing the cost of the delay and inaction: the climate crisis continues to intensify, and we’re experiencing the consequences every day — including devastating droughts, catastrophic floods, and raging wildfires that lead to food insecurity, the loss of homes and livelihoods, and increased numbers of climate refugees.
Without phasing out fossil fuels, there is no pathway to achieving the Paris goals — and no hope for protecting the Amazon.
But in November 2025, the world’s eyes will turn to Belém, Brazil — a city at the edge of the Amazon — as it hosts COP30, the UN’s annual climate summit. It’s a once-in-a-generation chance for leaders to come face to face with the forest they’ve made so many promises to protect.
COP30 marks a critical deadline. Ten years after the Paris Agreement, it’s the moment for countries to submit their new “Nationally Determined Contributions” or NDCs, which are national plans that lay out how each country will contribute to the global effort to fight the climate crisis.
They outline how countries will cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change. Updated every five years, these plans are due again this year — in 2025 — and must include stronger, more ambitious goals than ever before.
These climate plans will determine whether we can still hold global warming to 1.5°C and steer clear of the worst impacts of the climate crisis.
Why Global Citizen Launched “Protect the Amazon”
Ten years after the Paris agreement, the world is falling short. Emissions are rising. Forests are falling. And the 1.5°C target — the line between a livable and an unlivable planet — is slipping away.
COP30 offers a powerful opportunity to change course.
To take advantage of this moment, Global Citizen’s Protect the Amazon global advocacy campaign will drive action in the lead-up to COP30. We’re leveraging major cultural moments, political convenings, and citizen-led mobilization to build pressure for climate commitments — from governments, financial institutions, and corporations.
These efforts will culminate in the Global Citizen Festival: Amazonia, the first-of-its-kind impact concert in Belém during COP30 that will harness the power of culture to spotlight the Amazon and drive millions of citizens to action. Global Citizen Festival: Amazonia will also be one of the most sustainable and lowest impact large-scale events ever to take place in South America.
What We’re Asking For
We are calling on countries like France, Germany, the European Union, South Africa, Nigeria, and others to step up by submitting bold climate plans (NDCs) that include clear timelines to phase out coal, oil, and gas, scale up renewable energy, and eliminate inefficient fossil fuel subsidies.
We are advocating for governments to join global mechanisms to accelerate the fossil fuel phase-out, such as the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty (FFNPT). Signers to this treaty demand an end to the expansion of fossil fuels and seek to build a foundation for a just energy transition.
We are also supporting global mechanisms such as the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA), an alliance of governments working to support other countries to manage a phase out of global fossil fuel production.
What Can Global Citizens Do?
At a time when forests are nearing a point of no return and frontline communities are bearing the brunt of climate impacts, the stakes have never been higher.
We know additional oil and gas exploration is incompatible with keeping the world to 1.5 degrees of warming, while without renewable energy for all, global climate goals are out of reach, and poverty and inequality will remain entrenched.
COP30 must be a turning point.
This isn’t just about Amazon. It’s about food security, clean air, safe water, and a livable future — especially for the generations coming after us.
As Global Citizens, we can take action by raising our voices, applying pressure where it counts, and standing in solidarity with the communities on the front lines of climate change.
We know the problem. We have the solutions. Now, we need the will to act. We can end the era of coal, oil and gas, and take action now to create change tomorrow.