By Pooja Arora and Shaitan Singh
After a span of fourteen years, the ACTO members convened in Belém do Pará on August 9th 2023, marking a significant moment. The central focus was on addressing the pressing issues concerning comprehensive protection of the Amazon, combating poverty and disparities within the region, and advancing sustainable, harmonious, all-encompassing development. ACTO, the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, stands as a unique intergovernmental entity uniting the Amazonian countries – Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. United by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT), this organization represents the sole socio-environmental alliance in Latin America.
The Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT), originating on July 3, 1978, laid the foundation for ACTO’s establishment. The purpose was to facilitate the harmonious growth of Amazonian territories. This approach aimed to ensure that combined efforts from the Amazonian nations yield fair and mutually advantageous outcomes, aligning with the objective of achieving sustainable development for the Amazon Region. Recognizing the need for enhanced collaboration, the eight nations took the decisive step in 1995 to form the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO). This move aimed to fortify and put into practice the goals set forth by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty. The Permanent Secretariat of ACTO was set up in Brasilia, Brazil.
The summit has been deemed ‘Rainforest diplomacy,’ led by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva depicting how environmental policy is making headway into foreign policy discussions. The world is facing a climate emergency while bureaucrats, diplomats, and a recent addition, securocrats debate the scope of ‘climate finance.’ The Amazon rainforest is one of the nine global climate tipping points identified by the scientific community. Climate tipping is a critical threshold which once crossed will lead to abrupt or irreversible changes in the climate system.
The ACTO nations were joined by other rainforest rich nations from the world. The joint communique released on August 9th did not adopt the goal of ending deforestation by 2030 (a national policy under President Lula in Brazil). The attending nations were encouraged to follow a national goal to end deforestation. The summit depicts the difficulties in forging common goals on climate policy across the world. The progress is abysmal and slow in all areas ranging from renewable energy to deforestation. The fault lines are fraught with conflict between national policies and international goals including the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. The goalposts of the global north diverge significantly from the global south, but the latter also has little homogeneity in approach to the issue of climate change.
Amongst the amazon rainforest rich countries, Bolivia and Venezuela are the only ones that were not a part of the Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use announced in 2021, an agreement centered on halting and reversing forest loss and land degradation by the end of the decade, i.e., 2030. Ironically, one of the issues of contention amongst the countries that attended the summit was oil development. Colombian President Gustavo Petro argued for halting new oil development in the Amazon while Brazil is contemplating developing a potential offshore oil field at the mouth of the Amazon River. Petro underscored the issue in an op-ed in the Miami Herald, writing: “As heads of state, we must assure the end of new oil and gas exploration in the Amazon.” Columbia does not have significant oil reserves comparable to Brazil and Peru. But Petro, in his speech at the summit, likened the desire to keep drilling and the idea of a ‘gradual energy transition’ to a denial of climate change.
The final communique titled ‘United for Forests’ is lackluster. It acknowledges the rights and contributions of indigenous people, women, and youth in protecting the Amazon rainforest. It also displays concern on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC AR6) report on the fact that, “climate change is already impacting tropical forests around the world, including through distributional shifts of forest biomes, changes in species composition, biomass, pests and diseases, and increases in forest fires”. The participating nations reiterated their dedication to the conservation of forests, the mitigation of factors leading to deforestation and forest degradation, the preservation and appreciation of biodiversity, and the active pursuit of an equitable ecological transition.
The participating nations articulated a shared concern regarding the incomplete adherence of developed nations to their established commitments of furnishing official development assistance at a level equivalent to 0.7% of their gross national income. It was also stated that the obligation to allocate $100 billion annually in climate financing, consisting of fresh and supplementary resources for developing countries, has not been fully realized. There was a collective call directed at the developed nations, urging them to honor their responsibilities pertaining to climate financing and to actively contribute to the mobilization of a cumulative sum of $200 billion annually by the year 2030. This financial objective, as delineated in the Kunming- Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, is intended to bolster the facilitation of national biodiversity action plans and strategies. To achieve this, the provision of novel, supplementary, foreseeable, and sufficient financial resources is a pivotal concern.
The statement also manifests apprehension regarding the failure of certain developed nations to adhere to their prescribed mitigation objectives. It further underscores the imperative for developed countries to assume a proactive stance in expediting decarbonization of their economies. This entails achieving a state of greenhouse gas emissions neutrality expeditiously and ideally preceding the year 2050. Acknowledging the paramount efficacy of international cooperation in bolstering sovereign dedication to mitigating the catalysts behind deforestation and forest degradation, the participants expressed disapproval toward the implementation of discriminatory strategies aimed at addressing climate change and environmental preservation. This encompasses not only unilateral approaches but also measures that manifest as arbitrary or indefensible forms of discrimination, and those that are ostensibly veiled constraints on global trade.
The participating nations extended invitations to fellow developing countries endowed with tropical forest ecosystems, in anticipation of the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP-28) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP-16) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), alongside pertinent international forums. In an earnest plea, they extended a call to fellow developing nations endowed with substantial shares of global biodiversity. The message resonated with the need for these countries to assert their authority over resource management dedicated to the preservation and responsible utilization of biodiversity.
Climate finance took center stage as a fervent topic during the summit, evoking strong sentiments among participants. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva addressed the issue passionately, emphasizing that the requirement for financial support transcends individual countries like Brazil, Colombia, or Venezuela. Instead, he underscored that the urgent need for funding stems from the damage inflicted upon nature by centuries of industrial development. Speaking to reporters as the summit ended, President Lula da Silva articulated his viewpoint.
The summit’s overarching message, while lacking definitive targets, remains unequivocal: nations blessed with comparable natural resources wield greater influence when presenting a unified front. Furthermore, it underscores the imperative for affluent nations to augment and fulfill their financial obligations. On the flip side, developed countries have repeatedly sought a concrete roadmap complete with deadlines from their developing counterparts, outlining how financial commitments will be met. This intricate matter bears the hallmarks of a contentious and multifaceted issue, characterized by disputes over delineations, the acceptability and validation of mechanisms, and the ongoing conflict concerning the realm of loss and damage. The Belem Summit is a model that can be replicated by countries with similar natural resource endowment in the developing world.
Authors are Ph.D Scholars at Jawaharlal Nehru University. New Delhi.
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