COP30 in Belém: Indigenous children are increasingly vulnerable to climate change

As COP30 begins in the administrative centre of the Amazon region, Belém, Brazil, Dr Syafiq Mat Noor, has published a policy brief

The policy brief from Dr Syafiq Mat Noor, Lecturer in Climate Change Education at the School of Education, titled “Why Revitalising Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Change Education Matters: Insights from Voices of the Rainforest” highlights new findings from Voices of the Rainforest, conducted in Malaysia, revealing that indigenous children educated within a standardised school system are increasingly vulnerable to climate change due to three interrelated challenges: the diminishing reliance of indigenous communities on rainforest habitats; the exclusion of indigenous knowledge from school syllabi; and the erosion of intergenerational indigenous knowledge.

We collected an extensive dataset from Voices of the Rainforest, including more than 120 ethnographic interviews, 48 teacher interviews, 279 children’s drawings, and three participatory workshops with 57 participants. Across all data sources, the findings consistently show that indigenous knowledge is under threat, which in turn makes indigenous children increasingly vulnerable to climate change.

These findings are particularly relevant to COP30, held in the heart of the Amazon – a region where indigenous communities play a vital role in regulating the global climate. The policy brief underscores the urgent need to integrate indigenous knowledge into climate change education, aligning with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) agenda.

Rainforest, Malaysia

Dr Mat Noor is part of the University of Leeds’ COP30 delegation and the UNFCCC Task Force, and will attend the conference in person as an official UNFCCC observer from 10 to 21 November 2025, contributing evidence-based insights to inform policy and negotiations. He will also participate in several roundtable discussions and side events at COP30, focusing on two key themes: Action for Climate Empowerment and the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform (LCIPP).

At COP30, Dr Mat Noor will also chair a panel session titled “University Initiatives Working with Indigenous Communities Towards Climate Action” on 15 November 2025 at the Higher Education for Climate Action Pavilion. The session, led by the University of Leeds, will feature the British Academy’s International Challenges projects, with contributions from colleagues at Heriot-Watt University, Aberystwyth University, and Universiti Malaya.

Find out more about Voices of the Rainforest project.

Read more from Dr Syafiq’s policy brief: “Why Revitalising Indigenous Knowledge for Climate Change Education Matters: Insights from Voices of the Rainforest”.