Belém do Pará, 15 November 2025
Today, during COP30 in Belém do Pará, Brazil, more than 50,000 people took part in the Funeral for Fossil Fuels, an unprecedented artistic and political intervention that strongly echoed across global climate negotiations. The action brought together Indigenous peoples from across Latin America, activists from around the world and over 100 organisations, and has already been recognised as one of the defining moments of the conference.
The performance — featuring giant coffins representing coal, oil and gas, large suns and wind turbines, over 80 jaguar performers, a 30-metre serpent and more than 100 artists — symbolised the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era. The event was organised by the Alianza Potência Energética, in collaboration with the People’s Summit, the artistic direction of Auto do Círio, and the School of Theatre and Dance of the Federal University of Pará.
This epic intervention helped shape the narrative of the final phase of COP30 negotiations, reinforcing the global call to end oil exploration in the Amazon and to phase out fossil fuels worldwide. The message was unmistakable: the Global South is leading.
Voices of the Global South resonate in Belém
João Talocchi, Co-founder of Alianza Potência Energética Latin America, stated:
“From the Global South to the world, we are showing what a fair and courageous energy transition must look like.”
Juan Carlos Jintiach, Executive Secretary of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities (GATC), emphasised the urgency of political action:
“It is essential that the governments of Latin America and the world rise to the occasion of this historic and more human COP. Every time the forest is destroyed by mining or oil, Mother Earth suffers. In Ecuador we recognised the rights of nature; now, in Brazil, we expect a clear roadmap to move beyond fossil fuels and protect biodiversity, nature and our rights.”
Ilan Zugman, Director of 350.org in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighted the significance of the moment:
“Today we march symbolically burying fossil fuels because they are the root of the crisis threatening our lives. Humanity already knows the way forward: clean energy, climate justice and respect for the peoples who protect life. What is missing is political courage to break once and for all with oil, gas and coal. It is time to put these old fuels where they belong — in the ground of history.”
He also noted:
“We know that most people in the Global South already want this future. Impacted communities must have a seat at negotiation tables. Wealthy countries and petrostates must stop standing in the way.”
Lina Torres, Programmes Director at Movilizatorio and Co-founder of Alianza Potência Energética, said:
“Life is far too beautiful and precious to let fossil fuels destroy it. COP30 is the moment when we must decide to end the fossil fuel era and accelerate the path towards a fairer and more prosperous tomorrow.”
Carolina Sánchez, from the Red Gran Caribe Libre de Fósiles, reminded the world of the disproportionate impacts faced by Caribbean nations:
“Emissions from the extraction and use of fossil fuels are heating our Caribbean Sea and producing ever more devastating hurricanes. We contribute less than 2% of global emissions, yet our communities suffer the strongest impacts. It is time for fossil fuels to rest in peace — and for the Caribbean to live in peace.”
Inês Santos Ribero, Coordinator of the Auto do Círio cultural programme, described the role of art in political transformation:
“When art takes to the streets, resistance becomes collective. This funeral is a poetic cry: the fossil era must end, and its ending can be as beautiful as it is necessary.”
Cristóbal Díaz de Valdez, Co-founder of Alianza Potência Energética, further noted:
“Latin America and the entire Global South have the people, creativity, resources and potential to lead the way forward.”
Michael Poland, Campaign Director of the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, highlighted the global momentum for systemic change:
“Fossil fuels threaten life across the world — harming billions of people, destroying biodiversity from the Amazon to the Pacific, and endangering our future. We must leave these dangerous fuels behind, and doing so requires a binding, equitable, science-aligned roadmap to phase out coal, oil and gas. This is why thousands of organisations, over a million people and a growing bloc of countries are pushing for a Fossil Fuel Treaty.”
João Pedro Galvão Ramalho, from the People’s Summit, connected the mobilisation to Amazonian and Global South demands:
“The Global March reflects the diversity of tens of thousands gathered in Belém. In the midst of the climate crisis, we demand real solutions from Amazonian territories and the Global South. The Funeral of Fossil Fuels transforms this collective voice into art to deliver an urgent message: an end to fossil fuels and an Amazon free of oil and gas.”
A civilisational imperative
Science is unequivocal: fossil fuels cause over 5 million premature deaths per year due to air pollution and are responsible for the majority of greenhouse gases heating the planet. Abandoning them is no longer optional — it is an ethical, environmental and civilisational imperative.
The Funeral for Fossil Fuels stands as a historic milestone in the history of the COPs — a powerful cultural and political declaration that the world is ready to leave behind an obsolete and destructive industry and embrace a future rooted in life, justice and renewable energy.