Brazil on the Global Stage
In a hyper fragmented and fractured world, Brazil is stepping onto the international stage with a unique perspective worth watching. Earlier in July, Brazil hosted the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro—BRICS being the bloc of the major emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Later this year, Brazil will again welcome the world for COP30 in Belém, the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, which brings together nearly every nation to negotiate collective action on the climate crisis. Together, these events place Brazil at the heart of urgent global conversations on climate justice and the future of international cooperation in a rapidly shifting world order.
A BRIDGING ROLE
As both a democracy and a developing country in the Global South, Brazil has often played the role of critical and constructive facilitator, and we can expect more of that at COP30. “This kind of positionality in global affairs has made Brazil very conscious of its bridging role and very productive and protective of the multilateral arena. Why? Because multilateralism actually matters for small countries, for less powerful countries.” said Laura Trajber Waisbich, Deputy Director of Programs of the Igarapé Institute. “We still believe that we are better off in cooperation than without.”
In a recent webinar hosted by We Are One Humanity, Waisbich elaborated that many innovations in Brazilian foreign policy have been co-constructed alongside different civil society organizations, particularly the grassroots climate movement. “Brazil’s grassroots climate action is a living lab,” said Maíra Irigarary, another panelist. “Grassroots leaders show us how to align survival with biodiversity protection, how to mobilize with limited resources, and how to lead without waiting for permission.”
Irigaray has worked for over a decade with the Munduruku people of the Amazon, witnessing firsthand the environmental progress that comes from encouraging community ownership of the climate agenda.
As the webinar’s facilitator, Fabro Steibel, Executive Director of the Institute of Technology and Society of Rio de Janeiro, highlighted how this kind of open government model fosters a spirit of collaborative and inclusive policymaking at the national level, and how Brazil is bringing this culture and spirit to the global stage at COP30. One concrete example: the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, a $125 billion fund incentivizing the conservation of tropical forests worldwide, with Indigenous groups prioritized as fund recipients.
CENTERING COMMUNITIES
Brazil is not without its criticisms and challenges, which the panelists identified as crucial to address if the country is to become a true leader in climate and global governance. Many Indigenous communities, despite being frontline defenders of the Amazon, still lack equitable access to funding, and multilateral climate negotiations continue to favor top-down approaches. “Decolonizing decision-making spaces is the true way forward,” said Irigaray. That means improving financial and language accessibility for Indigenous participation at global climate talks, and prioritizing local, community-driven projects as engines of change.
“The lesson learned from the open government movement is that participation is not enough,” offered Steibel. “We need to see more mechanisms of collaboration.” COP30 is a critical moment to implement such mechanisms and set a precedent for future climate forums and multilateral conversations, fully embracing civil society as integral to innovation.
“Change does not come from the same mindset that created the crisis. It comes from recovering the dream of being Earth again, living in reciprocity, not dominance,” Irigaray concluded. “We have to reroute our imagination in relationship, not extraction. And it’s possible—but it will take time.”
Watch the full webinar here.
