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to infrastructure and services leaves many climate change have the tools and opportunities
communities ill-prepared to cope with to adapt and thrive.
intensifying climate risks such as extreme heat,
floods and droughts. In this context, climate In the Amazon, this includes expanding access
change acts as a stress multiplier, underscoring to basic services, strengthening climate-resilient
the need for regionally tailored and inclusive infrastructure and supporting sustainable
adaptation strategies. livelihoods that align conservation with income
generation. Empowering local actors – including
Hosting COP30 in Belém draws international Indigenous peoples, traditional communities and
attention to the unique realities of the Amazon low-income populations – is key to designing
– a region where environmental dynamics and policies that are both effective and rooted in local
development challenges are deeply intertwined. realities.
The Amazon plays an irreplaceable role in
maintaining planetary balance. It absorbs vast For COP30 to leave a meaningful legacy, the
amounts of carbon each year and hosts over 10% Amazon must be recognized not only as a global
8
of global biodiversity. There is no viable path to ecological asset, but as a strategic region for
climate stability without a healthy Amazon. Holding building inclusive and low-carbon development
the COP during the region’s dry season – a period models. Advancing a climate agenda that
marked by heatwaves and forest fires – adds connects environmental priorities with health,
urgency and visibility to these challenges. It is also education, connectivity and economic opportunity
a rare opportunity to center the Amazon in global is essential. In the Amazon, resilience depends on
climate discussions. solutions that safeguard the forest while promoting
inclusive development for local communities –
This context calls for a more integrated a core principle of climate justice, which seeks
approach to the climate agenda – one that to ensure that those most affected by climate
links environmental protection with inclusive change are also empowered to shape and benefit
development, infrastructure investment and from the solutions.
economic resilience. Climate justice, in this sense,
means ensuring that the regions most affected by

1 When it comes to access to sewage systems, the North has for approximately 657.780.973 million metric tons of CO2e,
the lowest rate in the country, with only 24.41% of households followed by the Center-West with 477.885.260 million, the
connected. In contrast, the Northeast stands at 43.06%, Northeast with 455.671.607 million, and the Southeast with
the Center-West at 54.27%, the South at 63.73%, and the 422.305.578 million metric tons of the country’s total gross
Southeast at 86.68%. Data available at: https://censo2022. emissions. Data available at: https://seeg.eco.br/english/
ibge.gov.br/panorama/mapas.html?tema=conexao_rede_ home/
esgoto&recorte=N2
5 Considering only forested areas, 700,000 hectares were
2 The same trend appears in access to the general water affected, releasing 12.7 million metric tons of CO2e.
supply: only 56.45% of the North’s population is regularly 6 Available at: https://ipam.org.br/emissao-de-co2-por-
served, while the Northeast reaches 77%, the Center-West queimadas-na-amazonia-cresce-60/
85.65%, the South 86.89%, and the Southeast 91.17%. Data
7 Available at: https://oglobo.globo.com/um-so-planeta/
available at: https://censo2022.ibge.gov.br/panorama/mapas.
amazonia-ja-emite-mais-gas-carbonico-do-que-absorve-
html?tema=abastecimento_agua_rede_geral&recorte=N2
indica-estudo-25109172#:~:text=As%20emiss%C3%B5es%20
3 Additionally, the North has the highest percentage of its
das%20queimadas%20s%C3%A3o,que%20tem%20em%20
population living in favelas, at 18.91%, compared to 8.49% in the
m%C3%A9dia%2011%25.&text=Dados%20do%20Inpe%20
Northeast, 2.41% in the Center-West, 3.23% in the South, and
mostraram%20que,bilh%C3%A3o%20de%20toneladas%20
8.38% in the Southeast. Data available at: https://censo2022.
por%20ano
ibge.gov.br/panorama/mapas.html?tema=pop_em_
8 Available at: https://infoamazonia.org/2022/12/15/cop15-
favelas&recorte=N2
amazonia-biodiversidade/
4 According to 2023 data from the Greenhouse Gas Emissions
and Removals Estimation System (SEEG), the North accounted
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