BrazilPolicy · Extreme events

Participatory construction of community charters to adapt to extreme climate events in Brazil

The Climate Bills of Rights are political and pedagogical instruments, led by young people, built in a participatory way to identify vulnerabilities and formulate demands for climate adaptation. Created by the Climate Reality Project Brasil, from the Brazil Climate Center (CBC), they have already resulted in 19 Letters launched in all 5 regions and 6 biomes of Brazil, plus an international letter bringing together 8 Latin American countries, mobilizing more than 600 people in territorial meetings.

Extreme events Policy

Imagen de Construcción participativa de cartas comunitarias para adaptarse a eventos climáticos extremos en Brasil

Problem: In the territories where the Charters were constructed, extreme events manifest themselves in different ways: floods and landslides in favelas in Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, droughts and fires in the Cerrado and Pantanal, and coastal erosion on Amazon islands. The most affected communities, the majority of which are black, indigenous and peripheral, still have little institutional space to transform these experiences into public policy demands.
Action: Collective and participatory construction of Climate Rights Charters by territory, via the free course "Constructing Climate Rights Charters"; public hearings and bilateral meetings with ministries; national immersions in political training and articulation; participation of community delegations in international spaces (such as COP30); and mobilization of an international manifesto. 19 Charters have already been launched in all 5 regions and 6 biomes of Brazil — from Maré (RJ) and Aldeia Mãe Terra (MS) to Terra Ronca (GO) and Palmas (RS) — in addition to an international charter with 8 Latin American countries.
Place: N/A, National, Brazil
Youth participation: In each territory, young leaders are trained through the course "Building Charters of Climate Rights" and begin to coordinate listening and mobilization of their communities, including older leaders. A Young Ambassador for Climate created the Charter for Pará workers.

Base information

Measure summary

National vulnerability profile

Brazil presents a strong regional differentiation in climate vulnerability between its 5 regions and 6 biomes — from the semi-arid Northeast to the Amazon, from the Pantanal to the metropolises of the Southeast and South —, which requires instruments capable of translating this territorial diversity into concrete and legitimate political demands for each community.

Measure objectives

Strengthen community leadership in identifying vulnerabilities and formulating demands for climate adaptation, with the goal of expanding the methodology to new territories in all biomes in Brazil, increasing the capacity to influence public policies at local, national and international levels.

Proposed solutions

Collective and participatory construction of Climate Rights Charters by territory, via the free course "Constructing Climate Rights Charters"; public hearings and bilateral meetings with ministries; national immersions in political training and articulation; participation of community delegations in international spaces (such as COP30); and mobilization of an international manifesto. 19 Charters have already been launched in all 5 regions and 6 biomes of Brazil — from Maré (RJ) and Aldeia Mãe Terra (MS) to Terra Ronca (GO) and Palmas (RS) — in addition to an international charter with 8 Latin American countries.

Beneficiary communities

Young people and communities from the 5 regions and 6 biomes of Brazil, including Maré (RJ), Aldeia Mãe Terra (MS), Terra Ronca (GO) and Palmas (RS); more than 25 territories formed directly, with young local leaders taking the lead, and more than 600 people impacted.

Role of youth

In each territory, young leaders are trained through the course "Building Charters of Climate Rights" and begin to coordinate listening and mobilization of their communities, including older leaders. A Young Ambassador for Climate created the Charter for Pará workers.

Results

Between 2022 and 2026, 19 Climate Rights Charters were launched; 6 leaders presented demands to the National Congress in a public hearing; there were meetings with three ministries; and a delegation of 10 community leaders participated in COP30. In the territories, wells were drilled and school infrastructure was improved in Aldeia Mãe Terra, brigadistas were trained in Terra Ronca and Charter goals were incorporated by the municipal management of Palmas (RS).

Contact

Isadora Gran (cartasdedireitosclimaticos@gmail.com), Climate Reality Project Brasil. Web: https://www.cartasdedireitosclimaticos.com.br/

Complementary information

Funding type

Mixed

Local climate problem

In the territories where the Charters were constructed, extreme events manifest themselves in different ways: floods and landslides in favelas in Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, droughts and fires in the Cerrado and Pantanal, and coastal erosion on Amazon islands. The most affected communities, the majority of which are black, indigenous and peripheral, still have little institutional space to transform these experiences into public policy demands.

National sociopolitical context

Brazil has been consolidating its national climate governance, with instruments such as the Climate Plan 2024-2035 and NDC 2024, in a context of the country's growing international protagonism on the environmental agenda. The Charters movement dialogues directly with this structure and gained international visibility during COP30, held in Belém (PA) in 2025, coordinating with federal ministries and environmental organizations such as IBAMA and ICMBio.

Strategic alliances

Ministries of Racial Equality, Cities and Health; IBAMA; ICMBio; National Congress; network of 116 signatory organizations of the Climate Rights Manifesto; and articulation with organizations from 8 Latin American countries. The movement is a bridge between territories and public authorities: it takes demands to audiences with ministries and coordinates mixed technical and financial support from partners. The delivery of the Letter from Aldeia Mãe Terra to Minister Nísia Trindade took place at COP28 (2023), with SOS Pantanal.

Enabling and limiting factors

The initiative is based on a replicable participatory methodology, with open and free training for new territories, and on the visibility obtained with COP30 in Brazil. It is conditioned by the need for continuous political and financial articulation to sustain the governance of a movement on a national scale, with 19 Charters and presence in all biomes.

Co-benefits

Strengthening community and youth leadership, knowledge production (research on public policies), and concrete results in specific territories (infrastructure, training of brigade members, access to financing and impact on municipal policies).

Scalability

The methodology has already been replicated: it went from one chart in 2022 (Complexo da Maré, RJ) to 19 charts in all 5 regions and 6 biomes of Brazil, in addition to an international chart with 8 countries in Latin America. Open and free training for new territories facilitates adoption.

Long-term sustainability

Sustained by structured national governance (Public Policy Front with 60 researchers, leadership training courses) and continuous political articulation with public authorities at multiple levels, which expands its staying capacity beyond specific funding.

Documents and references