How to Write the "Closing Statement" (It Starts Today)
COP30 day 29 of 30: The perfectly simple IIPFCC coordination system
Welcome to day 29 of 30!
In this series we’re building from LCIPP mechanics through Indigenous participation frameworks to COP negotiating tactics. By tomorrow, you’ll understand how Indigenous Peoples move from values to operative text at the world’s largest climate negotiations. Today we’re talking about how the IIPFCC could coordinate its closing plenary statement.
The gavel comes down. The deal is done. Parties line up to vent for the next three hours.
But Indigenous Peoples don’t queue. We speak last. Always.
As part of the constituencies at the UNFCCC, our closing statement is the final word before the plenary closes.
It’s usually to tired interpreters and security guards, but still it’s a chance to get things on the record.
The Problem I’ve Seen Too Many Times
I’ve watched closing statements that made me cringe.
Moral statements with no reference to the specific text that was deleted.
Regional statement that centered one Indigenous area instead of representing Indigenous Peoples globally.
Statements written by whoever was still awake at 3 AM, because most of the caucus had already left COP.
Here’s why that happens. By the final plenary, most Indigenous representatives are exhausted and/or heading home. The bulk of decisions get finalized throughout the second week. If you wait until the gavel drops to coordinate your closing statement, you’re too late. The people who know what happened in each negotiating stream are already on planes.
You end up with a statement written by the last ones standing, not the ones who fought the fights.
The System That Works
The IIPFCC should write its closing plenary statement during the second week of COP, while decisions are still being made and while working group coordinators are still present.
Here’s the process:
Each working group submits one or two sentences. Maximum 30 words each.
The constraint is deliberate. Thirty words forces precision. It prevents long paragraphs that dilute the point. Each working group knows their negotiating stream best. They know what was deleted, what was weakened, what was promised but not delivered.
Article 6 working group: “The transition of CDM projects to Articles 6 contradicts the Paris ambition and undermines protection of Indigenous rights in carbon markets.”
Finance working group: “Climate finance commitments fail to ensure direct access for Indigenous Peoples. Intermediaries dilute accountability and delay action.”
Adaptation working group: “Indigenous knowledge was acknowledged in the preamble but not operationalized in adaptation guidance. Acknowledgment without action is theater.”
The drafting team compiles submissions into one cohesive statement.
The compiled statement must do three things:
First, reference specific text that was deleted or weakened, not vague principles.
Second, represent the global IIPFCC position, not one region’s experience.
Third, make the closing remarks point where it hurts. Name the failure, not the aspiration.
One representative delivers the statement at the final plenary.
Indigenous Peoples speak last as part of the constituencies. Though we’re considered one, we should not behave as a civil society constituency. We close AS Indigenous Peoples.
Why This Matters For COP31
Your closing statement is your last political act at COP. It goes into the official record. It sets the frame for the next negotiation. It signals to allies and adversaries what you will fight for at COP31.
If your statement is vague or regional, you’ve wasted your leverage. Future negotiators have nothing concrete to reference. Parties will claim at the next COP that “there was consensus” or “concerns were minor.”
If your statement is precise and global, you’ve turned your loss into your opening position for the next round. You can walk into COP31 and say, “As we stated for the record at COP30, the deletion of safeguards language was unacceptable. We are now proposing strengthened text to address that failure.”
The official record is your proof that you objected. Without it, you start from zero. With it, you start from documented dissent.
Before You Go
As you can see, the IIPFCC closing statement is not a venting session. It’s a coordination exercise. It shouldn’t be written by whoever is left standing. It should be written by working groups who submit 30 words each, compiled into one voice that represents Indigenous Peoples globally.
Make the closing remarks point where it hurts.
See you tomorrow for the last entry!