The Belém Declaration For Future Generations
In Belém, at the edge of the Amazon, young people and elders, policymakers and artists, scientists and Indigenous leaders sat in one room with one shared intention: To imagine the worlds we want to live in — and the world we will leave behind.
We gathered because climate negotiations often look only a few steps ahead. But the futures we imagined stretched decades beyond 2030 — into 2050 and 2100 — and were shaped not by abstraction, but by lived reality:
- By coral reefs that must survive for our great-grandchildren to swim in
- By forests whose wisdom stretches beyond one lifetime
- By homes that should not be washed away
- By communities that deserve safety, dignity, and the chance to dream
This Declaration is the collective outcome of the 2100 Futures Lab in Belém and the lived experience of everyone in the room — from Small Island leaders fighting for existence, to young people imagining the systems they want to build, to elders who carry memory and hard-earned wisdom.
It speaks to what our generation — and the ones who came before us — demand from those who hold power today.
The Declaration
1. Future Generations Must Have a Voice Now
We affirm that meeting the needs of future generations is the mandate of today.
Every climate, economic, health, and peace decision must include those who will live with its consequences long after current leaders leave office.
Future generations are not abstract. They are real.
They are sitting in our classrooms, playing in our communities, living in our stories, and writing their own.
The right to a liveable future must be protected in every level of governance — local, national, and global.
2. Justice Must Lead: Especially for the Global South
From Antigua & Barbuda to the favelas of Brazil, from Indigenous territories to urban settlements, participants named the same truth: the climate crisis is not equal, so climate action cannot be either.
We call for climate decisions that:
- centre frontline communities
- honour Indigenous knowledge
- protect SIDS from disappearing
- uphold the rights of refugees and displaced peoples
- and ensure that the people most affected shape the policies meant to protect them.
A just future demands a redistribution of power — when it finally reaches the communities carrying the heaviest load.
3. Protecting the Web of Life Is Non-Negotiable
Participants imagined futures where:
- marine parks become sanctuaries of biodiversity,
- forests are restored,
- riverbanks are repaired with nature-based engineering,
- and oceans remain safe for the next generation to swim in.
This is more than conservation —it is culture, survival, identity, and justice.
We call for urgent global action to protect and restore ecosystems, uphold Indigenous land rights, and embed nature into every economic decision.
4. Economies Must Transform — Radically and Fairly
Participants imagined futures where:
- fossil fuel subsidies ended
- GDP was redefined to reflect people and planet
- companies accounted for nature, climate, and inequality
- public finance reached communities, not corporations
- and financial systems served dignity, not extraction
Economic transformation is a choice. One that must be made now.
5. The Right to Imagine Must Be Universal
Imagining the future is a privilege for a few when it should be a right for all generations. It requires meeting current needs that have generational consequences:
- safety
- health
- education
- stable income
- menstrual dignity
- rights protected
- and civic space that allows people to speak
They are conditions for futures thinking — and for justice.
We call for universal access to climate-resilient health systems, clean water, rights-based services, and technologies that expand dignity and possibility.
6. Intergenerational Leadership Should Be the New Normal
Belém showed what happens when leadership flows both ways.
Youth brought urgency, clarity, creativity.
Elders brought memory, strategy, and access.
Indigenous leaders brought place-based wisdom.
Artists brought emotion and meaning.
Scientists brought evidence.
Policymakers brought pathways to scale.
This is intergenerational governance — and it must be institutionalised, with shared roles, shared mandates, and shared accountability.
When wisdom and willpower meet — and move systems forward together.
7. A World Rooted in Peace, Not Crisis
Participants described futures where:
borders protected dignity, not fear
climate refugees had rights, not uncertainty
Indigenous peoples were protected, not displaced
and conflicts no longer defined migration
We call on world leaders to develop peace-centred climate strategies that protect people and territory, prevent conflict, and uphold the rights of refugees.
Climate action must be a project of peace.
8. Technology Should Serve Humanity
Participants imagined a world where technology:
- expands access to health
- fights misinformation
- strengthens community care
- supports young and aging generations
- and improves crisis response
Tech must uplift humanity, not replace it.
It must be inclusive, accessible, ethical, and co-designed with the communities it serves.
9. Accountability and Courage Must Guide Every Decision
Participants universally voiced the same demand: courage from leaders.
Courage to listen, to act early, to act fairly, to act boldly, and to act beyond political timelines.
Accountability must be built into every climate commitment between now and 2030 — especially in adaptation, finance, health, and protection of vulnerable communities.
10. A Commitment to COP31 and the Road Beyond 2030
The ideas generated in Belém — the Futures Lab visions, the Letters from Belém, and the 2030 actions — will be formally shared with the Youth Climate Champion for COP31.
Belém opens the door to what comes next. This Declaration now travels into the “Road to 2100,” guiding a future beyond 2030 shaped by intergenerational leadership, Global South vision, and justice at its core.
2030 Actions
(Derived from the COP30 Futures Lab)
Youth Leadership & Funding
By 2030, world leaders will host an annual global youth summit to fund youth-led projects, increasing by 5% every year.
Just Transition & Universal Care
By 2030, world leaders will adopt no-fossil-fuel regimens and universal healthcare, ensuring a just transition.
Community-Led Resilience & Accountability
By 2030, world leaders will act under real community pressure, ensuring that policies, funding, and climate decisions respond directly to frontline demands.
Climate-Resilient Health Systems
By 2030, world leaders will align health policies to support health infrastructure adapted to the climate crisis and human rights.
Protection of Indigenous Territories & Refugees
By 2030, world leaders, together with civil society, will create peace-centred climate strategies to protect Indigenous territories, assist climate refugees, and prevent future conflicts.
Information, Safety & Crisis Response
By 2030, world leaders will strengthen global communication and crisis-response systems to keep people safe, fight misinformation, and support communities working together.
The Belém Declaration grows from imagination and collective courage.
Futures were shaped here — in voices, stories, visions, and the belief that generations can build together. The future begins wherever people choose to create it.
We offer this Declaration to COP31 and to all who will lead in the years ahead —as a compass, a commitment, and a call to act with the urgency this moment demands.
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