Media Advisory

For Immediate Release

The Amazon’s Climate Reckoning

Raya, Leila, and Debora

When:
November 17, 2025 @ 4:30 PM BRT (UTC-3)

Description:

The Amazon, one of the most biodiverse and climate-critical regions on Earth, stands at a tipping point. Oil drilling, mining, deforestation, and industrial agriculture continue to devastate ecosystems, accelerate climate breakdown, and threaten Indigenous peoples whose territories sustain the forest.

This program explores the urgent call to end large-scale extraction in the Amazon Basin and to chart a just, post-extractive path forward. It examines how Indigenous stewardship, ecological governance, and new economic models can protect the Amazon as a living system vital to planetary balance.

COP 30: The Amazon’s Climate Reckoning asks:

  • What would it take to truly stop industrial extraction in the Amazon?
  • How can climate policy, finance, and solidarity align with Indigenous leadership?
  • What lessons from the Amazon apply to the global fight for a livable planet?

Through expert insight, lived experience, and bold ideas, the program offers a vision for protecting the world’s largest rainforest — and safeguarding our shared future.

Panelists:

Raya Salter
Raya Salter is an attorney, activist, and educator specializing in energy and climate justice. A member of the New York State Climate Action Council, she has testified before the US Congress and advises national policymakers on equitable climate and energy transitions. Through Facing Future TV, she brings global audiences critical discussions from the UN climate negotiations spotlighting frontline and Indigenous voices. She is Executive Director of the Energy Justice Law and Policy Center.

Leila Salazar-Lopez
Leila (she/ella/ela) is a Chicana-Latina leader and defender of climate justice, Indigenous rights, and the Amazon. Since 2015, she has led Amazon Watch as Executive Director, building on nearly 30 years of advocacy for rainforests and human rights. Leila also serves in leadership roles with Amazonia for Life, Daughters for Earth, the Global Fund for Women, and Greenpeace.

Dr. Debora Ley
Dr. Debora Ley coordinates Guatemala’s Climate Change National Action Plan at the Ministry of Environment, and is an IPCC Lead Author and IPBES Coordinating Lead Author. An expert in renewable energy, climate mitigation, and adaptation, she has held senior roles with the UN, and is a founding member of the Central American Network for Climate Change Sciences and Executive Committee member for Mexican Climate Scientists. Dr. Ley holds advanced degrees in engineering, geography, and environment.

Where:
Belém, Brazil, COP30, Press Conference Room 2, Area D, Blue Zone