COP30 was an incredible experience. Belém, the host city, is at the mouth of the Amazon and is as vibrant and exciting as you might imagine. The conference itself was quite intense – the pavilions, the energy, the civil society actions, and the daily swirl of campaign messages competing for attention. For all its activity, one thing was clear: Fair Trade has a vital role to play in climate justice, even if our movement wasn’t as visible as it should have been.
Civil society behind the scenes
As a mere civil society observer I, of course, did not have access to the actual negotiations. However, I joined daily meetings of the gender and climate action constituencies, where observers reported back from the talks and coordinated advocacy. It often felt a bit like student politics (or am I just getting old?!), but their persistence mattered: these groups were instrumental in helping secure the new Belém Action Mechanism, an emerging global framework for a just transition. It has no funding attached yet, but it signals that fairness, rights, and community voice are firmly on the agenda.
Supply chains, resilience and the missing Fair Trade lens
Across events on global supply chains, public procurement, food systems and debt justice, the themes were familiar: transparency, worker rights, shorter value chains, community resilience, and safeguarding small producers. In other words, the foundations of the Fair Trade principles.
Yet Fair Trade itself was rarely mentioned. When I asked a panel whether the 10 Fair Trade Principles could help anchor a just transition in agriculture, speakers agreed – but it was clear we need a stronger presence at forums like COP if we want Fair Trade to be recognised as part of the solution.
I was hugely encouraged to meet Ana from CLAC (Latin American and Caribbean Network of Fair Trade. Small Producers and Workers) – a beekeeper in Argentina whose hives are literally melting in extreme heat. Producers like Ana are living the front line of climate impacts, and their insights must shape global policy.
Scotland’s leadership and our opportunity
I also spoke briefly with Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action, Gillian Martin, who wore a Fair Trade Nation badge on her panel that day. Scotland’s loss and damage work is respected internationally, and there is real scope to mirror that leadership in other areas such as Just Transition, and deepen the connection between Fair Trade and climate justice across government policy, procurement, education, and international partnerships.
Where next for our movement?
So much of what COP30 focused on – just transition, accountability, human rights, gender equality, and resilience – mirrors what Fair Trade has championed for decades. But we need to show up louder, with evidence, stories and producer voices. There is space for a more coordinated Fair Trade presence at future COPs, and it would be positive for Scotland to play its part in making that happen.
COP30 reinforced that Fair Trade isn’t an add-on to climate action, it’s a blueprint for ensuring no one is left behind. Our task now is to make sure the world hears that message.
