Climate Activists Say No to Fake Solutions at COP31

Indigenous people, climate justice groups, and environmental activists around the world are urging governments to reject what they call fake climate solutions. They warn that methods like carbon capture and storage, marine geoengineering, and some nature-based solutions could weaken real efforts to fight climate change.

The activists made this appeal during a joint action at the ongoing 31st session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Turkey on Tuesday. They are challenging the increasing promotion of these methods as solutions to the climate crisis.

The campaign was under the slogan, “No False Solutions, But Real Solutions.” The activists argued that these methods could allow fossil fuel expansion to continue, commodify nature, threaten ecosystems, and undermine the rights of indigenous communities facing the impacts of climate change.

They called for governments to focus on people-centered and rights-based climate action. This should include changing economic systems, restoring ecosystems, and transitioning away from fossil fuels.

Threat to Ecosystems

Aakaluk Adrienne Blatchford from the Indigenous Environmental Network warned that marine geoengineering and similar actions could further harm fragile marine and Arctic ecosystems. She said the oceans connect different lands and are crucial for maintaining environmental balance. The impacts of industrialization, extractive activities, and the commodification of nature are already being felt worldwide.

“As indigenous people in the north, our cultural survival and food security rely on a healthy Arctic ecosystem that the world needs to thrive,” she said.

Ms Blatchford is worried that instead of reducing fossil fuels and critical mineral extraction, countries are putting money into what she calls fake climate solutions, including marine geoengineering. She also pointed out that these methods are poorly regulated and could create serious environmental risks.

“There is no replacement for clean water, air, and land and no wealth can buy it back,” she said.

Concerns Over Nature-based Solutions

Dana Tarigan from WALHI Indonesia acknowledged the need to protect forests, mangroves, peatlands, and coastal ecosystems for climate adaptation, biodiversity, and community resilience. But she warned that nature-based solutions are often used to justify harmful development projects and could be tools for greenwashing.

She stated that real nature-based solutions must strengthen ecosystem resilience, protect community rights, and tackle the root causes of climate vulnerability. “They must not justify projects that increase social inequality or create new forms of carbon commodification and land grabbing,” she said.

Ms Tarigan emphasized that while nature can help in solving the climate crisis, it cannot replace the need to stop relying on fossil fuels. “Climate solutions must serve people and ecosystems first, not carbon markets or megaproject interests,” she added.

Ayumi Fukakusa from Friends of the Earth Japan described Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as a lifeline for the fossil fuel industry instead of a real climate solution. She argued that the technology is costly, energy-consuming, and uncertain. Promoting it could let fossil fuel companies keep extracting and burning coal, oil, and gas while pretending to contribute to climate action.

“CCS allows the fossil fuel industry to keep extracting, burning, and profiting from coal, oil, and gas while pretending to be part of the climate solution. It is greenwashing on an industrial scale,” she said.

Ms Fukakusa further criticized the unfair burden placed on communities in developing countries, especially in the Global South, to handle the pollution from wealthier nations and companies. She called for direct cuts in emissions, a shift to renewable energy, and community-driven climate policies instead of those pushed by fossil fuel companies.

Call for People-led Climate Action

Jax Bongon from IBON International said real climate solutions must tackle the wealth and power concentration among a few people. He argued this has left many without enough access to land, food, water, and other resources. He noted that decisions affecting communities and ecosystems are often driven by corporations and powerful political interests.

People-led climate action needs communities to take back control over the resources and decisions that shape their lives. “The foundation of people-powered climate action includes communities reclaiming the power and resources to shape the conditions upon which their lives and livelihoods depend,” he said.

Mr Bongon added that real solutions need a major change in how people relate to nature, recognizing their connection with ecosystems. He mentioned that alternatives to harmful economic systems are already appearing in communities around the world.

Rich Countries Accused of Promoting False Solutions

Rachitaa Gupta, global coordinator of the Global Campaign to Demand Climate Justice, accused wealthy countries and large corporations of pushing technologies like carbon capture and storage and marine geoengineering to delay real climate action. She described these methods as a multibillion-dollar business backed by some of the world's biggest companies and increasingly promoted in international climate talks.

“Instead of cutting emissions, ending fossil fuel expansion, and paying their climate debt, rich countries want to promote fake solutions,” she said.

Ms Gupta argued that promoting these methods could lead to more extraction, land and ocean grabbing, exploitation of communities, and delays in cutting greenhouse gas emissions. While corporations profit, vulnerable communities suffer the effects of the climate crisis. “We cannot rely on illusions, we need real people-led solutions that protect Indigenous Peoples’ rights, our lands, our forests, our rivers, and our oceans,” she said.