As it is my first COP, I walked in with quite the optimism, the hope that I would see some new things. And though I did, simultaneously the same framework I had long recognized replicated itself in front of me.
The false carpet floors sat three inches above concrete, Indigenous Peoples and Afrodescendant panels were drowned out by larger Global North pavilions; the space was treated more like a resume booster than a place for real engagement. Too many spoke about climate only through rose colored glasses, praising false solutions propped up by the oil and agriculture lobbyists.There were just over 1,900 fossil fuel and big agriculture executives/ lobbyists in attendance at this year’s COP according to an investigation by The Guardian and DeSmog.
And so I realized something: the global climate conversation is unique from the one happening in the United States, but the variable of difference lies not in exploitation, not in silence, but in the sheer magnitude of individuals. The scale shifts, but the pattern remains.
The rain bellowed at the Indigenous Peoples pavilion amid the demand for the recognition of Afrodescendants and the need for a constituency. Someone called it Thundercats, and the bellow felt like Mother Nature calling out. Here, in the mouth of the Amazon, she called out to us again and again. In Week One the door fell, and territories rose; that movement carried momentum straight into Week Two. My optimism had not faded, but the next battles played out consecutively around me.
The whispers of justice broke like the rain, yet some walked shielded from it, untouched, without a single furrow in their brow.
The United States was apparently absent, yet its impacts and obligations rang through nearly every conversation. And although the United States did not seem to wish to be here, the civil society members from the US stood their ground. We, the civil society, understand the delay the US has caused on justice, the harm multiplied by its shadow, and the obligation grossed by its inadequate and cruel inaction.
Then the panel began, and the Afrodescendant demand for UNFCCC recognition was spoken again. Fire flickered and spread near the pavilions. And in our fervor, we escaped into cramped hallways, and I held a hand tight. Thunder boomed again. This time she gave no warning; she simply let it ring. Videos poured in, and what we could not see became undeniable.
The plastic ceilings and cardboard went as fast as they were produced, and the outside came in. The impermanent build was at war with the soil beneath it; and there was a reckoning for all who walked upon her. Water sprinkled from above with her bellowing reminder, perhaps her reflection of how insufficient the action inside remained.
“More than 300 Big Agriculture Lobbyists Have Taken Part in COP30, Investigation Finds.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 18 Nov. 2025, www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/18/big-agriculture-lobbyists-cop30-climate-summit.
Erika Yamada, Melissa Gómez Hernández. “Afro-Descendant Peoples Seek Climate Justice on the Global Stage.” Ford Foundation, 14 Oct. 2025, www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/stories/afro-descendant-peoples-seek-climate-justice-on-the-global-stage/.
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Gemma Gutierrez is a Youth Advisor to the GoodPower (formally Action for the Climate Emergency) Board and a member of its Youth Advisory Board. Born and raised in Milwaukee, WI, in a tight-knit Mexican community, she learned early the power of words, connection, and collective action. Her work spans climate justice, civic engagement, and immigrant rights through organizations such as Sunrise, Voces de la Frontera, and CUNY’s Environmental Justice Working Group. From voter mobilization in the 2020 election to research on flooding and urban equity, Gemma is committed to linking climate justice and finance to a broader vision of global liberation.
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