Report: Leandro Molina / COP30 Brasil
Voice-over: Enrique Villamil, Laura Frederico, Nycolas Verlly, Paula Godoy e Rebeca Rodrigues
Reporter: Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, President of COP30, underscored the importance of parliamentary engagement in climate discussions during his remarks at the Second Parliamentary Summit on Climate Change and Just Transition of Latin America and the Caribbean, held at the National Congress in Brasilia. In his address, Corrêa do Lago stressed that a just transition and climate adaptation will be core themes of the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Belém. He argued that climate action should be seen not as a barrier, but as an opportunity for development.
Corrêa do Lago: This agenda must always be tied to development, to growth, to job creation, and to improving people's lives.
Reporter: The ambassador outlined the Brazilian government’s key priorities for COP30 and emphasized the need for climate-related decisions to be understood by the general public, the private sector, and local governments, given their direct impact.
Corrêa do Lago: Multilateralism is international democracy. That is president Lula’s top priority. And as he often emphasizes, we must extend the scope of climate solutions far beyond COP negotiations themselves.
Reporter: Corrêa do Lago also highlighted the innovative structure of COP30, which will feature an Action Agenda running parallel to the official negotiations.
Corrêa do Lago: The Action Agenda we are proposing is extremely robust and will include more than 350 meetings. This agenda brings subnational governments, the private sector, and civil society to the COP. These discussions will demonstrate that we already have countless responses and solutions to many of the challenges we face.
Reporter: During the summit, Brazilian Senator Jaques Wagner (PT-BA) and Colombian official Javier Medina Vásquez, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), echoed the ambassador’s message on the role of parliaments in shaping climate policy. Wagner noted that although Latin America and the Caribbean are among the regions most affected by climate change, they are also home to key solutions.
Jaques Wagner: Latin America and the Caribbean hold 60% of the planet’s biodiversity and forests essential to global climate regulation.
Reporter: Javier Medina Vásquez praised Brasil and the region for their leadership in multilateral climate diplomacy.
Medina Vásquez: The Latin American and Caribbean Parliamentary Observatory on Climate Change and Just Transition (OPCC) symbolizes the leadership role that Brasil and the region have played in shaping and advancing the multilateral climate agenda.
Reporter: The summit was organized by the Parliamentary Observatory in partnership with ECLAC.
Translation: Tadeu Azevedo (POET/UFC)
Proofreading: Michel Emmanuel Felix François (POET/UFC)