Demand UK support for Indigenous forest defenders at climate talks

Our world’s forests are under threat, worsening climate change, biodiversity loss and threatening vulnerable communities.

This year’s UN climate talks – hosted in the Amazon – are our chance to act.

We need the UK government to champion Indigenous communities as the best protectors of the world’s forests. At the climate talks we must demand they get a leading role, legal protections and direct funding to end forest loss.

At home we urgently need a Business, Human Rights and Environment Act to stop UK-driven forest destruction. And we must hold UK companies accountable for all abuses of human rights, labour rights and environmental harms in supply chains.

Sign the open letter to demand the UK tackles deforestation at the UN climate talks.

• Read the full letter

  To Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero,

  We urge you to prioritise action to protect the world’s forests at the COP30 international climate negotiations. Urgent UK action is vital to tackling climate breakdown, biodiversity loss and human rights abuses.

  Champion Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities
  We can't stop deforestation without Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) – the best protectors of the world’s forests. The UK must ensure IPLCs have the power and funding to lead the fight against forest loss.

  We ask you to commit to:

  • Making IPLCs priority decision-makers.
  • Providing long-term finance straight to IPLCs.
  • Legally protecting traditional land ownership.
  • Shielding IPLCs from violence and criminalisation.

  Stop UK-driven forest destruction
  Global forest loss demands strong domestic action to prevent companies importing forest-risk products into the UK. The government must immediately:

  • Strengthen and implement legislation to prevent the import of forest-risk commodities.
  • Pass a new Business, Human Rights and Environment Act to make UK companies accountable for all abuses of human rights, labour rights and environmental harms in their supply chains.

  We urge you to act now to protect the world's forests.