Félix Tshisekedi delivered his address at the COP30 Leaders' Plenary in Belém, Brazil, on November 6, 2025. He positioned the DRC as a "pays-solution" in the global climate fight, emphasizing the Congo Basin's role as a carbon sink while accusing unnamed actors of waging an "ecological war" in the east.
The speech's contradictions are instructive. A government that has deployed combat drones over forested highlands and partnered with militias that operate in national parks cannot credibly claim the mantle of environmental protector. The "ecological war" framing serves a precise political function: it repackages a military and governance failure as a victimhood narrative for international consumption.
COP30 audiences heard the climate language. They did not hear about the FARDC drone strikes over Minembwe, the displacement of forest-dependent communities, or the resource extraction agreements signed with foreign mining interests in areas of active conflict.