International IDEA at COP30
The 30th UN Climate Change summit (COP30) takes place on 10-21 November 2025 in the city of Belém, Brazil, at the edge of the Amazon rainforest. COP30 marks ten years since the adoption of the Paris Agreement and the focus of the summit is on implementation and how to turn climate pledges into concrete action. International IDEA is on the ground with the message that democracy is an essential part of the response to the climate crisis.
Reaching the Paris Agreement goals requires innovation in democratic governance, including on citizen participation and deliberation. International IDEA will present the experiences and outcomes from three climate assemblies organized in the state of Pará, Brazil, in the lead-up to COP30, with partner organizations Delibera Brasil and Agence Française de Développement. Read the case study report (available soon) and join us for engaged discussions in Belém on 12 November (IARAÇU River Caravan, outside the COP30 venue) and two events on 17 November (Finland Pavilion & IDFC Pavilion, COP30 Blue Zone and online).
In addition, International IDEA will engage with partners of the newly established 'International Climate and Democracy Coalition' on the overall nexus between climate crisis and democratic governance, against the current backdrop of growing autocratization. Join us on 18 November for a high-level event and launch of the Coalition (German Pavilion, COP30 Blue Zone and online).
Please see the additional information on each of the different events below.
Contact: Elin Westerling / e.westerling@idea.int
IARAÇU is a Brazil-France cooperation initiative to be held within the framework of COP30 in Belém from 10 to 21 November 2025. The IARAÇU River Caravan will sail from Manaus to Belém throughout the month of November and will be open to all members of the scientific community, particularly those involved in Brazil-France cooperation.
Date and time: 12 November, 13:00-15:00 (local time)
Location: IARAÇU River Caravan
From digital to local: what initiatives for effective citizen participation and the construction of climate policies that meet your needs?
The activity will take the form of a round of conversations involving researchers, public actors, civil society and communities to highlight the different tools for citizen participation existing in Brazil, with the aim of reflecting about their respective functioning and complementarities. It will be a question of deepening the discussions concerning the digital platform Brasil participativo, specifically on the Climate Plan Participatory Process to be launched at Cop30. Notably with a focus on inclusivity and territorialization, bringing participants of local climate assemblies as well as different stakeholders of Amazonian communities, to give a voice to people who are disadvantaged or far from public decision. It will also allow to share results of two citizens' assemblies organized in autumn 2025 in the State of Para, in the cities of Barcarena and Magalhães Barata.
Date and time: 17 November, 13:00-13:45 (local time)
Location: Finland Pavilion, COP30 Blue Zone
How Citizen Assemblies Can Inform and Improve Access to Climate Finance for Amazonian Communities
Achieving a just transition requires innovation in democratic governance. Citizen assemblies have been proposed as means to better align climate policy with local community priorities. This event focuses on the role of citizen deliberation, highlighting insights from two climate assemblies held in 2025 in Pará, Brazil, on improving access, transparency and responsiveness of climate finance for Amazonian communities. The event aims to create awareness and builds an emerging network around the role of deliberative democratic practices in climate decision-making for global, regional and national policy-makers and government officials.
Join us for a panel discussion followed by a Q&A with the audience.
Speakers:
- Rafael de Almeida, Manager, Amazon Fund, Brazilian Development Bank
- Camille Bemerguy, Deputy Secretary of Bioeconomy, Pará State Secretariat for Environment, Climate and Sustainability
- Silvano Costa Da Silva, City Councillor, City Council of Magalhaes Barata
- Atika Ben Maid, Deputy Head of Climate & Nature Division, Agence Francaise de Developpement
- Silvia Cervellini, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Delibera Brasil
- David Rosén, Adviser, Climate Change and Democracy Programme, International IDEA (moderator)
Date and time: 17 November, 15:00-16:30 (local time)
Location: IDFC Pavilion, COP30 Blue Zone and livestream
How can climate citizen assemblies leverage the impacts of private and public finance on the resilience of the local communities in Amazonia?
This event focuses on the collaborative role of citizen deliberation, public development banks and philanthropic foundations in climate policy and climate finance, highlighting learnings from climate assemblies held in October 2025 in two municipalities in the State of Pará, in the Legal Amazon region. The main findings of the climate assemblies were presented to local authorities and are part of a global report, highlighting their recommendations and detailing best methodologies to organize deliberative actions on climate action and climate finance. The event will bring together key actors in the climate finance ecosystem, such as public development banks and philanthropic foundations to discuss and reflect on the report’s conclusions.
Join us for a roundtable followed by a Q&A with the audience.
Speakers:
- Atika Ben Maid, Deputy Head of Climate & Nautre division, Agence Française de Développement (moderator)
- Avinash Persaud, Special Advisor on Climate Change to the IDB President
- Camille Bendahan Bemerguy, Deputy Secretariat for Bioeconomy at the Secretariat for Environment, Climate and Sustainability of the State of Pará
- Silvia Cervellini, Co-founder, Delibera Brazil
- Pedro Paulo Bocca, International Affairs and Public Policy Coordinator, GIFE
Date and time: 18 November, 12:00-13:00 (local time)
Location: German Pavilion, COP30 Blue Zone and YouTube Livestream
Autocratization and Green Backlash – Why Democracy matters for effective climate action
In the current geopolitical context, increasingly characterized by polarization and populism, democracy and climate action are losing political appeal in many countries. Nevertheless, the ability of our governance systems to effectively address climate change and environmental degradation remains a fundamental collective concern, as social cohesion, stability, and economic prosperity depend on it.
This event will:
- Reflect on the links between climate change and democracy in the UNFCCC context, in particular with regard to opportunities related to a ‘just transition’, security policies and the economy;
- Discuss issues at the intersection of both challenges, such as misinformation and disinformation, the need for more effective citizen participation, and institutional reforms and innovations;
- Present the newly constituted "International Climate and Democracy Coalition”, a platform for dialogue, knowledge and experience-sharing, and coordination around the Climate-Democracy Nexus.
Recorded remarks from:
- Kevin Casas-Zamora, Secretary-General, International IDEA
- Yasmin Qureshi, MP, Chair of the Board of Governors, Westminster Foundation for Democracy
- Matías Bianchi, Founder & Director, Asuntos del Sur
Panel discussion speakers:
- Niels Annen, State Secretary, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany
- Laurence Tubiana, CEO, European Climate Foundation
- Malini Mehra, CEO, Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced Environment
- Dylan Kava, Strategic Communications Lead, Pacific Islands Climate Action Network
- Michele Poletto, Adviser, Climate Change and Democracy, International IDEA (moderator)
