• On June 17th, the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) will hold an auction that includes oil blocks in the Equatorial Margin, such as those at the mouth of the Amazon River.

• The burning of oil and gas from the offered blocks could emit more than 11 billion tCO₂e (tons of carbon dioxide equivalent), more than what the agribusiness sector emitted over the past six years, and 5% of everything humanity can still emit to keep global warming at 1.5°C.

• Estimates suggest that up to 60 billion barrels of oil may exist in the Brazilian Amazon. If burned, they could emit 24 billion tCO₂e, which is nearly half of global emissions in 2023 or more than Brazil’s emissions over the past 11 years.

• The expansion of the fossil fuel frontier contradicts the Brazilian government's climate rhetoric and threatens the country's credibility at COP30.

Brasília, June 12th, 2025 – On June 17th, the Brazilian National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP) will hold the 5th Cycle of the Permanent Concession Offer, an auction of 172 blocks for oil and gas exploration, including areas in the Equatorial Margin such as the mouth of the Amazon River. Civil society organizations, along with Indigenous Peoples and local traditional communities, denounce this setback and demand the immediate suspension of the auction.

The burning of oil and gas from the offered blocks could release more than 11 billion tCO₂e, according to Instituto ClimaInfo. This is more than the agribusiness sector has emitted over the past six years, and 5% of the total emissions humanity can still produce to keep global warming below 1.5°C. Fossil fuels from the 47 areas in the mouth of the Amazon River alone could emit 4.7 billion tCO₂e if the blocks are explored.

The Amazon Basins at the center of the debate

In addition to the mouth of the Amazon River, the Amazonian territory is home to six other sedimentary basins: Parecis, Solimões, Amazonas, Parnaíba, Barreirinhas, and Pará-Maranhão. The total estimated potential of oil and gas beneath these basins is nearly 60 billion barrels. If confirmed—and exploited—the burning of these fossil fuels could release around 24 billion tCO₂e. That’s nearly half of all global emissions in 2023 (57 billion tons) or the equivalent of all Brazil’s emissions over the past 11 years.

Although the Brazilian government claims it wants to lead the global climate debate—especially by hosting COP30 in Belém—the statements made by the president of Petrobras, Magda Chambriard, the Minister of Mines and Energy Alexandre Silveira, and President Lula go against the principles of a just transition. While Lula delivers speeches about the so-called “Blue Amazon” and makes formal climate commitments, his administration continues to push for expanding the fossil fuel frontier in one of the planet’s most sensitive and strategic regions for climate balance.

This contradiction not only weakens Brazil’s international credibility but also directly violates the rights of Amazonian Peoples, who have historically protected the forest and the planet’s climate. Pushing for oil exploration in areas of high socio-environmental vulnerability—without free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) and without respecting their right to self-determination—perpetuates a model of climate injustice and energy colonialism.

Recently, more than 60 Indigenous leaders from the Oiapoque region publicly opposed Petrobras’ activities in the mouth of the Amazon River, exposing the lack of FPIC as well as threats to their lives, territories, and the future of the Amazon. Last week, authorities and Indigenous leaders from across the Pan-Amazon region—representing all nine countries—along with Indigenous leaders from all biomes in Brazil, issued a political declaration for COP30. Among other demands, they reiterated the urgent need to phase out fossil fuels.

There can be no climate justice nor any viable future with more oil in the Amazon.

Experts offered the following quotes

Toya Manchineri, General Coordinator of the Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB):
“We know what the solutions are to the multiple crises we face: the full protection of our territories, which are major carbon sinks. For millennia, we have lived in and cared for the Amazon, safeguarding the balance of the climate and of life itself. This crisis is also one of values and leadership. With COP30 approaching, the Lula government must choose: stand with the peoples of the Amazon or continue investing in oil. The time for contradictions is over. As guardians of the forest, we reaffirm our climate authority: THE ANSWER IS US.”

Ilan Zugman, director of 350.org Latin America and the Caribbean:
“There is no leadership without coherence. There is no just energy transition with more oil. We’re talking about billions of tons of additional greenhouse gases at a time when the entire world must stop burning fossil fuels to reverse the damage we’ve already done. Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities have already said no. Science has said no. And civil society is saying no. This auction must be canceled immediately. Brazil cannot become a symbol of global climate hypocrisy—it must be a model of courage, justice, and respect for life.” 

Sila Mesquita, national coordinator of Grupo de Trabalho Amazônico: 

“The Grupo de Trabalho Amazônico rejects the oil and gas auction scheduled for June 17th, which puts 47 blocks in the Amazon up for offer. This auction poses a direct threat to the Amazon, traditional peoples, and the planet’s climate. Instead of investing in clean energy and protecting the forest, the government insists on fossil fuels and destruction. We oppose this model of development. The Amazon is not for sale. It is alive and it will resist.”

Carolina Marçal, project coordinator at Instituto ClimaInfo:
“We need a global agreement for the phased elimination of fossil fuels. Until that happens, oil companies should not open any more oil and gas wells. And that must start with the Amazon, a critical region for biodiversity and the global climate. We need climate leadership that goes beyond words, and that won’t happen by opening new fronts of exploration in the Amazon.”

Mauricio Guetta, director of law and public policy at Avaaz:
“Brazil needs to show its true face: is it a climate champion that protects the Amazon and its peoples, or just another oil baron with pretty environmental rhetoric while pursuing development at any cost? The auction of new oil blocks in the Amazon must be canceled now — this is an environmental issue and a matter of justice for Indigenous Peoples and the forest.”

Clara Junger, Brazil campaigns coordinator at the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative:

“It’s unacceptable for the government to keep expanding oil and gas exploration in Brazil while claiming to support an energy transition. The ANP auction on June 17th, with 172 exploration blocks, directly contradicts the climate commitments of the country, which is still the host of COP30. The same government promoting the Amazon COP is pushing for exploration of 47 new blocks in the mouth of the Amazon River, threatening traditional communities and the planet. Data shows that only 0.06% of oil revenues go toward the energy transition. We need a global agreement to phase out oil extraction in a fair and just way. In the meantime, the bare minimum is to stop the expansion.

Lucas Louback, campaign and advocacy manager at Nossas:

“Thousands of people are already saying no to oil exploration in the Foz do Amazonas. And the Brazilian government needs to listen. Just a few months away from hosting COP30, continuing to bet on oil is a glaring contradiction. The Amazon is dangerously close to a tipping point, and clinging to this model pushes Brazil and the world closer to climate collapse. The claim that oil will fund the energy transition doesn’t hold up when less than 1% of the sector’s revenue goes toward it. If the government wants to lead on climate, it must make a real commitment.”

Gisela Hurtado, senior Amazonia campaigner at Stand.earth:

“Oil exploration has never brought true development to the Amazon. In several countries across the region, such as Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia, it has historically violated the rights of Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities, caused irreversible environmental damage, deepening inequality while enriching only a few. Brazil now has the chance to lead by example by suspending the auction and showing the world at COP30 that it is ready for a just, sustainable, and fossil-free future.”

Suely Araújo, public policy coordinator at Observatório do Clima:

“Brazil is missing a historic opportunity to lead the world toward decarbonization and environmental protection. By looking to the past, the government is making clear its decision to significantly ramp up the country’s oil production. In the midst of a climate crisis, it is creating irreparable cracks in its environmental policy, and demonstrating in practice a form of denialism. Not denial of climate change itself—that is an undeniable reality—but denial of the seriousness of the current situation. We cannot accept this decision by the Brazilian government. No to oil exploration in the mouth of the Amazon River and other basins of the Brazilian Equatorial Margin! No to increased oil production in the country!”