By Craig Rucker, President CFACT

November 12, 2025 - Just finished Day Two of COP30 in Belém, Brazil – Here at the United Nations’ annual climate circus, the elite jet-setters are once again preaching that saving the planet isn't just about scrubby emissions targets or innovative tech. No, it’s now also about "social action." Translation: Mother Nature’s mood swings — hurricanes here, droughts there — are apparently triggered by how faithfully humanity genuflects to the altar of woke cultural priorities. Embrace pronouns and reparations, or else the polar bears get it.

Enter the Peoples’ Summit, the self-proclaimed "counter-voice" to the official COP gathering. This parallel powwow, kicking off alongside the main event, is orchestrated by a staggering 1,100 Brazilian and global outfits — think social justice warriors, eco-zealots, and human rights hustlers from groups like Friends of the Earth International and La Via Campesina. Their manifesto? Ditch the pesky "top-down, market-driven solutions" (you know, the ones that actually create jobs and lift people out of poverty) for "systemic change." They’re insisting that “climate justice” be laced with “indigenous sovereignty,” feminist eco-warfare, and a healthy dose of anti-corporate rage. Global warming, they insist, isn't just about physics or weather patterns; it’s about symptoms of inequality, racism, and America’s capitalist evil empire.

At its core, this summit peddles a form of the oldest trope in the progressive playbook: the "noble savage." You remember that Enlightenment fever dream from Jean-Jacques Rousseau? The one that romanticizes indigenous folks — think Amazonian tribes — as being saintly eco-sages, frolicking in perfect harmony with nature, untainted by the big bad West’s greed? They’re portrayed, in many academic circles, as pacifistic paradise-dwellers, wise stewards of the wild, whose "lost innocence" shames our iPhone-addicted souls. Sounds poetic, right? Well, yes … until you realize it's not just dusty literary fluff — it’s a patronizing myth that flattens real history, stereotypes entire peoples as museum exhibits, and, worst of all, traps them in a time warp of subsistence suffering.

Don't take my word for it — ask the folks on the ground. As free market environmentalists who've long championed real stewardship over sanctimonious sermons, we've seen this up close through CFACT's "Stewardship in Action" programs in India, Africa, and Latin America. We at CFACT are not dropping into these high-need areas with guilt-trippy TED Talks; we're lending a hand — building wells, teaching safe and productive farming techniques, and empowering locals to thrive.

Guess what? These communities aren't pining for Rousseau's fantasy Eden. They crave the modern miracles we take for granted: reliable electricity to power fridges and schools, air conditioning to beat the brutal heat, cars to zip to markets, and yes, even iPhones to connect with the world. Subsistence living? That's code for starvation and stagnation, not some noble virtue. Development isn't destruction — it's deliverance.

Which brings me to our little side quest yesterday: a boots-on-the-ground jaunt into the Amazon rainforest via a boat cruise. Language barriers? No sweat — we roped a local guide who could translate and tell us in English the unvarnished truth not just from his own point of view, but also the points of view of his kin and neighbors. Verdict? They love progress. Until the early 2000s, this stretch was pitch-black after sundown — no lights, no fans, just endless sweat and scrounging. Now? Electricity, he says, has been a game-changer. Tourism is blooming, and they're itching for more hotels to rake in more foreigner cash. "Build it, and we'll host ‘em," he grinned. He also loved COP30 being in nearby Belém, not so much because of its climate fearmongering message, but because it’s bringing an influx of cash to restaurants, hotels, and shopping malls where his friends work. No surprise from a CFACT lens: Free enterprise beats forced primitivism every time. Folks want opportunity, not pity — the chance to climb vines and corporate ladders.

Our trek? Pure adventure, from handling a parrot and a tarantula to putting on indigenous face paint that made us look like, well, I suppose … wannabe gringo warriors? This was topped off with a visit to a 400-year-old kapok tree that whispered ancient secrets (or maybe just wind?). We’ll drop the full interview and footage later this week, but spoiler: it’s a powerful rebuke to the summit's savage schtick.

Back at COP central, the noble-savage sales pitch rolls on, lapped up by a press corps more gullible than a freshman at a frat party. They'll nod along as delegates drone about "decolonizing" the climate agenda, all while ignoring the real heroes — entrepreneurs turning the Amazon into a bioeconomy powerhouse, not a no-fly zone for chainsaws.

The real showstopper looms Saturday: the "Global Day of Action" march through Belém's streets. Get ready for it — thousands of face-painted activists, indigenous reps from lefty NGOs, and Earth First! flag-wavers chanting for "system change" and fossil-fuel funerals. Colorful? Sure. Entertaining? I guess so, if you're into performative outrage. But beneath the samba beats lies a bummer of a message: lock the world's poorest in a romanticized cage, all to salve the Global North's eco-guilt. As free market environmentalists, we say nay. Rather, let's unleash human ingenuity, respect local dreams, and build a future where the jungle thrives with us, not despite us.

From the steamy heart of Brazil, that's your Day 2 update. Stay tuned — the circus is still just warming up.