Throughout the week, CEBRI is hosting a series of debates on climate action, bringing together representatives from the public, private, academic, and cultural sectors to drive concrete solutions in the lead-up to COP30.

At its new headquarters, Casa COP has established itself as one of the main spaces for dialogue and innovation during the Rio Climate Action Week (RCAW), hosting discussions on Geopolitics, Climate Policies, Energy Transition, and International Relations.

DAY 1 | Tackling Wildfires and Air Pollution: Driving Solutions Toward COP30

The first event of the week, held in partnership with the Clean Air Fund, brought together researchers, government representatives, and civil society leaders to discuss the inclusion of air quality and black carbon in forest policies, in preparation for COP30.

Opening the panel, Renata Costa, Senior Research Analyst at Instituto Ar, emphasized that tackling super pollutants yields immediate benefits for both climate and public health. She highlighted the importance of monitoring, risk management, and mitigation. Renata presented the Respira Amazônia Coalition, which currently operates 187 low-cost sensors across the Amazon region, and stressed the urgency of expanding coverage and strengthening prevention and response protocols.

Next, Elis do Nascimento Silva, Director of Climate Justice at the Brazilian Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, warned that wildfires affect up to 50% of Indigenous territories. She advocated for the recognition of traditional fire management as part of the solution and highlighted the role of Indigenous brigades within the Prev-Fogo Program. She also reinforced the need to increase resources and ensure direct funding for these territories.

Ane Alencar, Science Director at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), drew attention to the unprecedented scale of the fire crisis in Brazil, with 30 million hectares burned in 2024. She warned of the economic and social impacts and argued that the issue must be central to climate negotiations, as uncontrolled fires threaten initiatives such as REDD+, bioeconomy, and forest restoration.

Thaianne Resende Fábio, Director of the Department of Environmental Quality at the Brazilian Ministry of Environment (MMA), presented advances in the national air quality policy, including the expansion of monitoring stations and the launch of the MonitorAr platform. Representing MMA, Thaianne emphasized the importance of integrating deforestation and air pollution policies, and called for the development of a national plan to reduce short-lived climate pollutants. Beto Veríssimo, COP30 Special Envoy for the Forest Sector and Co-founder of Imazon, stated that we are living in an unprecedented “era of fire” that directly threatens tropical forests.

Representing the Brazilian Ministry of Health, Eliane Ignotti, reinforced the public health impacts of air pollution, with an estimated 95,000 annual deaths in Brazil linked to poor air quality. She presented the VigiAr Panel and announced the development of the Belém Action Plan for COP30, which will bring together global health adaptation experiences with a focus on climate justice.

Closing the panel, Emanuel Lins, Diplomat from the Biodiversity Division (DBIO) at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and COP30 Presidency, stressed the importance of an international strategy for fire prevention and monitoring. He noted Brazil’s participation in FAO’s Global Fire Hub and advocated for COP30 to be a moment to mobilize a global task force against wildfires, valuing Indigenous knowledge and promoting cross-sectoral cooperation.

The panel was moderated by Thais Jesinski Batista, Project Manager of the Climate Transition and Sustainability Program at CEBRI.

Read the event factsheet HERE.

Watch the full event broadcast HERE.