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Among songs, dances and murmurs, three black tombs, five to seven meters high, arrived outside the new São Brasil Market, in Belém. There was no shortage of widows around him, but those present did not wait for them with sadness, but with the hope that this symbolic funeral would become reality. Each box had a name: Gas, Coal (coal) e Oil (oil). In front of the giant structures, a boa, supported by a dozen people, zigzagged from side to side, and guarding it, a line of more than 80 jaguars dominated the streets of the Amazon city.
Thus, these emblematic animals of the Amazon began to walk, giving way to the more than 50,000 participants who, according to the organizers, attended the funeral of fossil fuels. “It is a symbolic act, but also a political message. COP negotiators must build the path to bury and finish fossils once and for all,” says Joao Talocchi, co-founder of the Energy Power Alliance.
While the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP30) is still trying to discuss the energy transition, indigenous representatives and civil society were already burying the three fossil fuels in the streets.
A round of colours
“It’s not a climate crisis, it’s climate violence,” marchers shouted, referring to oil extraction in their territories. At the same time, some carried phrases like: “direct funding for the Amazon,” “let’s feed the world without destroying the planet,” and “2050 is already dead before it arrives,” referring to the year in which, according to the Paris Agreement, climate neutrality should be achieved and, therefore, the potential deadline for phasing out fossil fuels.
Others carried large signs simulating an overdue bill, alluding to financial resources to fight climate change, as well as funding that should reach indigenous peoples directly but is not yet a reality.
“The art shows the transition in a playful way. In the front we have coffins, crying women and death demonstrating the end of the fossil age and in the back we have the artistic representation of this future in color,” explains Talocchi. According to him, behind the funeral ceremonies, the march was dressed in different colors, symbolizing the just energy transition, which is one of the main demands of COP30.
The masks, costumes, coffins and elements displayed at the funeral were made by the School of Art, Theater and Dance of the Federal University of Pará, in Belém. “The COP is coming to the Amazon and this is the Amazon coming to the COP,” he adds.
Despite the 33 degrees centigrade in the Amazonian city, the march participants walked without stopping to rest. As they passed, spectators waved and took photos from balconies and restaurants. After almost 7 kilometers the awaited moment arrived.
“We expect a clear roadmap to get away from fossils and protect biodiversity, nature and our rights,” said Juan Carlos Jintiach, executive secretary of the Global Alliance of Land Communities.
The crowd eventually buried the fossils in a ceremony. After this event, the three graves were placed outside the COP30 venue as a reminder of what is expected to be achieved by the end of these negotiations.
