Igarapé participates in COP28 with an agenda dedicated to making a shift towards a green and fair economy
On November 17, global temperatures exceeded 2°C for the first time compared to pre-industrial levels. At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2023 (COP28) in Dubai, the Igarapé Institute is presenting an agenda of information and proposals to address the global climate emergency, with a special focus on the Amazon Basin. “We aim to generate knowledge and build bridges that enable Brazil and other developing countries to protect their forests and undertake a green and just economic transition,” says Ilona Szabó, co-founder and president of Igarapé.
The Igarapé Institute’s agenda at COP28 centers around the vision that the acceleration of the triple planetary crisis – climate disruption, loss of biodiversity, and pollution – requires a change in our relationship with the planet. “The future of the planet and its people depends on a global commitment to a green and just transition. Understanding that a healthy planet is a public good benefits the collective humanity,” points out Ilona, who is a member of the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism (HLAB).
For the Amazon, in its Climate Security and International Cooperation programs, the Institute has set the goal of transforming an ecosystem of environmental crimes into an ecosystem of green enterprises. To achieve this, it is focusing on three main fronts: monitoring and combating environmental crimes, tracing laundered money in illicit economies; strengthening governance and regional cooperation in the Amazon; and enabling innovative financial mechanisms for nature.
“Environmental crimes do not occur in isolation. They are mostly committed by criminal organizations that handle significant resources, leading to other crimes such as drug trafficking, corruption, money laundering, and homicides,” says Melina Risso, Research Director at Igarapé. The ecosystem of environmental crimes devastating the Amazon forest is fueled by illicit flows of resources, largely unnoticed by the surveillance systems of countries in the region. A regional and multisectoral perspective involving financial oversight bodies becomes essential to halt the advance of criminal networks.
If the path to reducing deforestation, which Brazil is focusing on this COP, involves dismantling criminal organizations, then it is necessary to create conditions for new economies to emerge and to counter the illicit chains that many depend on in the Amazon region. “To change the incentives for deforestation and promote investments in a green economy in the Brazilian Amazon, we must simultaneously work on strengthening the rule of law, expanding public-private partnerships, and reducing risks in investment solutions for green companies,” says Ilona.
With the presidency of the G-20 and aiming at preparing for COP30 in Belém (PA) in 2025, Brazil has a window of opportunity to consolidate its position of international leadership and secure resources for its green transition and the protection of its biomes – becoming, in fact, a global green powerhouse. ‘We have abundant natural resources that the world needs to preserve, such as forests, and those necessary for the world to transition, including strategic minerals and rare earths. What we need is an integrated and coherent vision capable of addressing immediate issues while safeguarding our collective future in the long term,’ says Ilona Szabó.
At COP28, Igarapé organizes, co-organizes, and participates in a series of events to contribute to and influence public and corporate policies within this agenda. The Institute will be with leaders from governments and international and multilateral organizations, companies, institutions from the global and national financial market, and partners from civil society.
Learn more details about the Igarapé Institute’s participation in COP28 on its hotsite.
Complete program
| Date | Event | Time | Location | Organization | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/1 | The Brazilian Ecological Transformation Plan: A conversation with the Ministry of Finance | 12:15pm to 1:15pm (GMT+4) | SDG Pavilion | Igarapé Institute | Ilona Szabó (Cofounder and President of the Igarapé Institute)
Ministry of Finance Juergen Voegele (VP for Sustainable Development at the World Bank) Laurence Tubiana (CEO da European Climate Foundation)* |
| 12/1 | How to ensure security as a fundamental right in the Brazilian Amazon? | 1:45pm to 3:00pm (GMT+4) | Brazil Climate Action Hub | Igarapé Institute
Brazilian Forum of Public Security (FBSP) |
Melina Risso (Research Director at the Igarapé Institute)
Aiala Colares Couto (Professor at the State University of Pará (UEPA) and Senior Researcher at FBSP) David Marques (Project Coordinator at FBSP) Vinicius Lameira (Public Prosecutor in Rio de Janeiro and Member of ABRAMPA) |
| 12/1 | International Cooperation and Integration as tools to fight crimes in the Amazon | 3:00pm to 4:15pm (GMT+4) | Brazil Pavilion | Federal Police | Ilona Szabó (Cofounder and President of the Igarapé Institute)
Humberto Freire de Barros (Director of Amazon and Environment at the Federal Police) Hanny Cueva Beteta (Global Program for Crimes Affecting the Environment, UNODC) Rodrigo Agostinho (President of Ibama) Andrei Augusto Passos Rodrigues (General Director of the Federal Police) |
| 12/2 | Civil society and private sector perspectives on financing Brazil’s Ecological Transformation | 10:00am to 11:00am (GMT+4) | UNFCCC Pavillion | Systemiq/ AYA Earth Partners | Ilona Szabó (Cofounder and President of the Igarapé Institute)
Izabella Teixeira (Former Brazilian Minister of the Environment) Luciana Costa (Director of Infrastructure, Energy Transition, and Climate Change, at the BNDES) Marina Grossi (President of CEBDS) Patricia Ellen (Systemiq/AYA Earth Partners) Rachel Biderman (Senior Vice President for the Americas at Conservation International (CI) Camila Valverde (Impact Initiatives Director at the UN Brazil) |
| 12/2 | Brazil and the 2030 Agenda: Implementation Strategies for the SDGs and International Cooperation | 4:30pm to 5:15pm (GMT+4) | Brazil Pavilion | Itaipu Binacional
Federal Government |
Ilona Szabó (Cofounder and President of the Igarapé Institute)
Janja Lula da Silva (Sociologist and First Lady of Brazil) Marcio Macedo (Minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic) Alexandre Silveira (Minister of Mines and Energy) André Corrêa do Lago (Secretary for Climate and Environment of the Ministry of External Affairs) Ênio Verri (Itaipu’s Brazilian General Director) |
| 12/3 | Connecting the Dots: Financing through Blended Finance Instruments | 1:30pm to 2:45pm (GMT+4) | Brazil Pavilion | Ministry of Finance | Ilona Szabó (Cofounder and President of the Igarapé Institute)
Luciana Costa (Director of Infrastructure, Energy Transition, and Climate Change, at the BNDES) Josué Gomes da Silva (President of the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (FIESP) Danny Alexander (Vice-President for Policy and Strategy at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Tatiana Rosito (Secretary for International Affairs at the Ministry of Finance) |
| 12/4 | Financing Ecological Transformation in the Amazon: Blended Finance Solutions for Practical Application in the Territory | 1:30pm to 2:45pm (GMT+4) | Brazil Pavilion | CEBDS
Igarapé Institute JGP Asset Management |
Ilona Szabó (Cofounder and President of the Igarapé Institute)
Marina Grossi (President of CEBDS) José Pugas (Partner at JGP Asset Management) Peter Bakker (President and CEO of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) Natália Dias (Director of Capital Markets and Sustainable Finance at BNDES)* Valmir Ortega (Partner at Belterra Agribusiness) * |
| 12/8 | Enforcement Strategies for Reducing Deforestation in the Amazon | 1:30 P.M. to 2:45 P.M. (GMT+4) | Auditorium 2 of the Brazil Pavilion | Ibama | Melina Risso (Research Director at the Igarapé Institute)
Rodrigo Agostinho (President of Ibama) Marcello Brito (Executive Secretary of the Legal Amazon Consortium) |
| 12/8 | Partnerships for COP30 and beyond: building a legacy for the Amazon region | 4:15pm to 6:15pm (GMT+4) | UNFCCC Pavilion | Igarapé Institute
Arapyaú Institute Foundation for Amazon Sustainability (FAS) |
Melina Risso (Research Director at the Igarapé Institute)
Virgílio Viana (General Superintendent of FAS) Puyr Tembé (State Secretary for Indigenous Peoples of the Government of Pará) Carina Vitral (Advisor to the Executive Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance) Marina Silva (Minister of the Environment) * Patricia Ellen (Systemiq/AYA Earth Partners) |
Mais informações: raphael.lima@igarape.org.br /press@igarape.org.br / joao@pensatacom.com
Sobre o Instituto Igarapé
The Igarapé Institute is an independent think-and-do tank that conducts research, develops solutions, and establishes partnerships with the aim of influencing both public and corporate policies and practices in overcoming major global challenges. Our mission is to contribute to public, digital, and climate security in Brazil and worldwide. Igarapé is a non-profit and non-partisan institution based in Rio de Janeiro, operating from the local to the global level.
