Guardians at the Gates of COP30

This is part of our “Letters from Belém” series — reflections written from afar as the world gathers for COP30 in Brazil. Though we’re joining virtually, our hearts are with those working for climate justice across the globe.

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Dear Leaders,

The forest remembers everything. It remembers who listened and who only took notes. It remembers the feet that walked gently and the boots that did not.

In Belém, as COP30 opens its doors, Indigenous leaders are arriving with the kind of clarity the world has been trying to write into policy for decades. They’re storming COP30 not with chaos but with direction. Their message is echoed by groups already pushing real change: Youth v. Gov and Our Children’s Trust advancing youth-led climate lawsuits, Earthjustice winning protections for communities on the frontlines, Mission Blue expanding global Hope Spots, Kpop4Planet mobilizing millions of fans for cleaner industries, Fridays For Future sustaining global pressure, and Zero Hour uplifting youth of color in the climate movement.

Here in the Philippines, their momentum feels like a warm front moving across the Pacific. After back-to-back storms, we’ve seen the kind of solidarity that never makes the headlines. Coastal communities restoring mangroves. Farmers replanting seed by seed. Divers working with local groups to protect coral reefs. People choosing one another, again and again.

This is what biodiversity protection looks like when it’s real. Not just a line in a declaration but thousands of hands rebuilding, defending, reimagining.

So when you say “protect biodiversity,” let it be a promise that aligns with the movement already in motion. Match the courage of those restoring watersheds, defending forests, turning oceans into sanctuaries, and fighting for climate justice in classrooms, courts, and coastlines.

The forest is listening. And for once, it hears more than warnings. It hears possibility.

In gratitude to those who guard the green,

ClimateHope.us & Boogie

Support the organizations on our Take Action page, uplift Indigenous defenders, and share this letter so the momentum rippling through Belém and the Philippines grows stronger. Climate hope is a team sport.