Developing Nations, Forest Stewards, and Indigenous Advocates Demand Climate Justice and Resource Accountability at COP31

Thinking Point

TreeTake Network

High-level diplomatic interventions and civil society briefings at the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, on November 12, 2026, sharpened global debate over grant-based climate finance, transboundary water security, tropical rainforest conservation, and Indigenous human rights. Across afternoon plenary addresses and press conferences, national leaders from South Asia and Central Africa joined frontline Indigenous and youth advocates in warning that debt-driven climate adaptation, unilateral water disruptions, and continued fossil fuel expansion threaten both ecological stability and international peace.

Pakistan Calls for Grant-Based Climate Finance and Transboundary Water Cooperation

Addressing the COP31 leaders' plenary in Antalya on November 12, 2026, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called upon wealthy industrialised nations to deliver predictable, grant-based climate finance rather than debt-inducing loans to climate-vulnerable countries. Referring to the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty following last year's bilateral crisis, Prime Minister Sharif warned against using shared transboundary river systems as instruments of geopolitical leverage and urged strict adherence to international water-sharing agreements across South Asia.

"Climate finance for developing and climate-vulnerable nations must be delivered predominantly in the form of non-debt-creating grants rather than loans that deepen existing fiscal burdens," stated Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in his COP31 plenary address. "Furthermore, water is the lifeline of ecosystems and agriculture across our region, and transboundary rivers must never be weaponised or subjected to unilateral suspension in violation of binding international treaties."

"Cooperative management of Himalayan river basins is indispensable as accelerating glacial melt and erratic monsoon patterns place unprecedented stress on downstream communities," observed Dr Adil Najam, climate policy specialist and former Vice-Chancellor of the Lahore University of Management Sciences. "Linking water treaty stability with equitable adaptation finance remains essential for safeguarding ecological and human security across South Asia."

Democratic Republic of the Congo Frames Rainforest Protection as Shared Global Duty

Speaking during the high-level segment at COP31 on November 12, 2026, the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo emphasised that conserving the Congo Basin—the world's second-largest tropical rainforest and a vital planetary carbon sink—represents a shared global responsibility that requires commensurate international financial compensation. Congolese officials highlighted that while the basin absorbs hundreds of millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and harbours irreplaceable biodiversity, local forest-dependent communities require direct, transparent funding mechanisms to sustain forest protection alongside poverty reduction.

"The forests of the Congo Basin regulate global rainfall patterns and sequester vast quantities of carbon for the benefit of all humanity, yet the countries safeguarding these ecosystems cannot bear the economic cost of conservation alone," declared the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo during his Antalya address. "Protecting tropical forests is a shared global responsibility that demands fair, accessible international financing mechanisms capable of reaching forest communities directly."

"Maintaining the ecological integrity of the Congo Basin peatlands and primary rainforests is critical to keeping global warming within safe limits," noted Dr Lee White, tropical forest ecologist and former Minister of Water, Forests, the Sea and Environment of Gabon. "International carbon and biodiversity finance frameworks must reward standing forest stewardship with long-term, sovereign-backed liquidity."

Indigenous Leaders and Greta Thunberg Confront Fossil Fuel Accountability

Outside the main plenary halls on November 12, 2026, climate campaigner Greta Thunberg joined Gudanji and Wakaya Traditional Owner Rikki Dank, Nepalese parliamentarian Sagar Dakar, Palestinian Institute for Climate Strategy representative Mohammad Usrof, and Rwanda-DRC environmental storyteller Celine Isimbi at a COP31 press briefing focused on fossil fuel accountability and human rights. During the briefing, Rikki Dank outlined her formal petition to the United Nations Human Rights Committee challenging the Australian government's approval of ongoing fossil fuel extraction and export projects on Indigenous lands, warning that unchecked emissions endanger cultural survival and fragile ecosystems.

"Our lands, waters, and sacred ecosystems are being sacrificed for fossil fuel exports that accelerate climate breakdown across the entire planet," said Rikki Dank, Gudanji and Wakaya Traditional Owner, during the COP31 press conference. "By taking our case to the United Nations Human Rights Committee, we are asserting that governments have a binding legal duty to protect Indigenous rights and future generations from climate harm."

"Global climate summits continue to platform fossil fuel interests while frontline communities, Indigenous stewards, and vulnerable nations bear the immediate consequences of climate inaction," stated climate campaigner Greta Thunberg at the Antalya briefing. "True climate accountability requires halting new fossil fuel expansion immediately and centring human rights and justice in every international decision."

Editor's Note
The afternoon interventions at COP31 on November 12, 2026, demonstrate that technical carbon accounting alone cannot resolve the geopolitical and ethical fault lines of the global climate crisis. Whether addressing transboundary river governance in South Asia, sovereign conservation finance for the Congo Basin, or Indigenous human rights challenges against fossil fuel exports, frontline leaders are demanding enforceable equity alongside emissions cuts. Moving forward, integrating binding legal accountability, non-debt grant financing, and direct support for Indigenous and tropical forest stewards will determine whether COP31 delivers durable global consensus.