LEADING SOCIETY

in the confrontation with the social, economic and political challenges that present themselves

IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE.

About iCS

The Institute for Climate and Society (iCS) is a philanthropic organization which supports projects and institutions that are dedicated to tackling climate change in Brazil.

Areas of Knowledge

Climate Policy

Law and Climate

Low carbon economy

Communication and Engagement

Transport

Energy

Land Use and Food Systems

Impact Stories

Each of the projects supported by iCS impacts people and communities, with a new development vision for the future of Brazil. Know the stories.

Café Apuí Agroflorestal invests in the economy of the standing forest and has evolved into a socioenvironmental impact initiative in a previously deforested area

The first indigenous woman to advise the president of the TSE is participating, with lawyers from other villages, in a training laboratory, promoted by iCS In an election year, the news reports have an almost omnipresent name: the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). What few people know is that, among its staff, there is the first indigenous woman to advise the president of the court. Samara Pataxó, of the Pataxó People of Bahia, from the Aldeia Coroa Vermelha, has many stories to tell, but one of them shines a different light. “I am very proud to say that I studied at the indigenous school of my village. This is very important because we not only learned to read and write, but we also received an upbringing to grow up engaged in the fight, to understand that we need to fight for our rights, to maintain our culture, and to have the certainty that I could go to university.”

 The torrential rains that ravaged the northeast of Brazil in recent weeks have left more than a hundred dead. A common factor among almost all of those who lost their lives, the color of the skin: black. There is no doubt that tackling climate change will only be effective if it is carried out with racial and gender justice.

The National Policy for Air Quality, which is in progress in Congress, is one of the incidences of iCS grantees in the fight for the well-being of Brazilians. Another example is the installation of a climate and air monitoring station in a community in São Paulo. In the 1970s, the strike at a cement factory in São Paulo extrapolated the debate for better wage and working conditions for the workers. The women of the [...]

Matheus Villa, who lives at Morro da Babilônia (Leme, Rio de Janeiro), has seen his life change after a professional training in the installation of photovoltaic panels. Soon after the course, held in 2021, he installed 420 solar panels at a plant in Rio de Janeiro and he has also worked on projects in São Paulo. “I used to work with tourism but I am now focused on sustainable energy, because there is a large and growing demand and very little skilled labor. Furthermore, I am learning other skills with the NGO, as a building electrician, which I am just about to complete.”

Publications

  • The agriculture and land use sector is responsible for one-third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is also the primary source of livelihood for many of the 3.4 billion people around the world who live in rural areas. As such, there is an imperative for a just and equitable transition for the sector that enhances resilient livelihoods, creates jobs in the rural economy, and encourages sustainable food production.

    In a new report, we share our learnings from three projects in Brazil, India, and South Africa. These case studies offer insights into the experiences of project development and implementation in these three regions and explore the challenges, successes, and learnings from local, on-the-ground interventions and how they might inform work in other regions. iCS is part of this process.

    Land Use and Food Systems

  • The Executive Director of iCS, Maria Netto, and Sergio Suchodolskoi, both senior fellows at CEBRI (Brazilian Center for International Relations), present the white paper “Public Development Banks and Philanthropies: No Longer Strangers”, which deals with combining public, private and philanthropic resources for climate action.

    Maria Netto and Sergio Suchodolski are the principal authors of the paper, which also had contributions from Javier Moritán, from the Group of Foundations and Companies (GDFE), Juan Lozano, from Innpactia, Renata Piazzon, from the Arapyau Institute, and Maria Carolina Suarez Visbal, from Latimpacto.

    Executive Dir.

  • Our idea with this booklet is to share with you our purposes and the different paths of this joint journey towards a more socially just and zero carbon Brazil.

    It is a challenging, constant and deeply rewarding work. We celebrate each advance towards the goals of our climate agenda, observing the various contributions of our partners in many of them. We act with focus, determination, organization and responsibility to expand the achievements.

    Here, you will learn in general terms and in detail about what we are, what we seek to be and how we are aiming
    to follow this path. Thank you for being with us.

    Inside iCS

  • Nossa ideia com esta cartilha é compartilhar com vocês nossos propósitos e as diferentes trilhas desta jornada conjunta rumo a um Brasil mais justo socialmente e carbono zero. É um trabalho desafiador, constante e profundamente recompensador. Comemoramos cada avanço em direção às metas de nossa agenda climática, percebendo em muitos deles as várias contribuições de nossos parceiros. Atuamos com foco, determinação, organização e responsabilidade para ampliar as conquistas.

    Communication and Engagement

News

2022 was a busy year for iCS and for all of Brazilian society working on socioenvironmental causes. In the end, however, there was a victory for democracy and all our [...]