San Francisco Frontiers - Four Brazilians to watch at COP30

Here are some key Brazilians to watch at the UN climate conference, running November 10–21 in the Amazonian city of Belem.

- Marina Silva -

Brazil's 67-year-old environment minister is internationally recognized for her lifelong advocacy for the environment and preservation of the planet's largest tropical forest.

Raised on a rubber plantation in the Amazon, Silva often cites her grandmother and a shaman uncle as early influences that shaped her love of the forest.

In 2008, she resigned from Lula's government during his second term as the two clashed over her environmental agenda.

She returned to his government in 2023 and is in a tricky position as Lula pushes to expand oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon River.

"We all live with contradictions, and these contradictions must be managed," she said earlier this month.

Silva was named one of Time's 100 most influential people of 2024, and hailed for her "deeply grounded courage and unflinching tenacity."

- Carlos Nobre -

After decades studying the Amazon and global warming, Brazilian meteorologist Carlos Nobre is an international authority on climate.

He was a member of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for highlighting environmental threats.

"Populists and climate deniers, like US President Donald Trump and our former president Jair Bolsonaro, adopt positions that contain enormous climate risk," the 74-year-old told AFP.

For 30 years, he has warned that deforestation is steadily bringing the Amazon closer to the "point of no return," when the tropical rainforest -- which plays a crucial role in absorbing greenhouse gases largely responsible for global warming -- will transform into savannah.

He believes that with strong environmental policies, Brazil could not only halt degradation but become one of the first major emitters to meet Paris Agreement targets.

"Brazil has all the conditions to lead the energy transition," he said.

- Txai Surui -

In 2021, Indigenous activist Txai Surui, 24, addressed the world at COP26 in Scotland, in traditional clothing and bearing a powerful message.

"The earth is speaking and she tells us that we have no more time," she said.

This year, she was appointed one of several young climate advisors to the UN Secretary-General.

About 1.7 million Indigenous people live in Brazil, some in protected areas covering one-seventh of the country.

Preserving these territories has been proven to reduce deforestation.

Txai is the daughter of a great chief and environmental activist, known for their longtime battle to defend their lands in northwestern Amazon.

She founded an Indigenous youth movement in the region and in 2021, she and other young climate activists sued the Brazilian government for a "carbon trick maneuver" they said allowed it to emit more greenhouse gases.

- Fafa de Belem -

Belem, the COP30 host city, is also the birthplace of Fafa de Belem, 69, one of the great female voices of Brazilian music who is also an activist for the Amazon.

Maria de Fatima Palha de Figueiredo, known by her stage name Fafa de Belem, has recorded 30 albums and sold millions.

She will perform at COP30, while keeping a keen eye on negotiations.

Fafa told AFP in an interview she hopes the peoples of the Amazon will be "at the center of the decisions."

After being outraged by the absence of representatives from the Amazon at a climate action meeting in New York three years ago, Fafa founded the Varanda da Amazonia debate forum.

"When we talk about climate change, we talk about data, graphs, and scientific reports. These are fundamental but don't always reach people's hearts: art creates that bridge," Fafa told AFP.

E.Jones--SFF