“The participation of 350.org Latin America during Climate Week in Salvador was quite intense and positive. During the week of activities, we got to know and meet again journalists from the Brazilian media, including from Valor, Folha de S. Paulo, ClimaInfo, Colabora, TV Globo, and SBT; and from the international media, such as Reuters, AFP, and AP; all of whom are important in covering the environmental agenda. Furthermore, we obtained good results from the press at the actual event, with an interview over three minutes with our regional director, Rubens Born, for the Jornal da Manhã [Morning News], for the affiliate of TV Globo in Bahia, about the need of energy transition in Brazil. We also had the opportunity to meet with other entities that work on issues related to the environment and climate, and friends from the socio-environmental movement.
The organization was honored to participate in a panel about empowerment for climate action, represented by our campaign organizer in Latin America, Ilan Zugman. For him, it is at this point where we have the greatest chance of victories within the climate crisis in which we live. “While governments act very slowly when faced with the required urgency, civil society has been strengthening and organizing,” indicated Zugman.
It is important to emphasize that the event was held at a critical moment for Brazil, seeing that the fires in the Amazon were intensifying at this time and had become the agenda for many of the discussions. According to the campaign manager of 350.org Brazil, Suelita Röcker, this was a positive point to give more visibility to the problem that has been happening for so many years in our country, but ended up leaving to one side other related aspects, for example, the use of fossil fuels.
However, Suelita asserted that the objectives of 350.org – that involve the prevention of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), coal mining, and climate change – were extensively addressed on several occasions, making the Climate Week essential in starting the debates that should be on the agenda until the Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP25), which will take place in Santiago, Chile, in December this year.” – Suelita Röcker, campaign manager of 350.org Brazil and Ilan Zugman, campaign organizer of 350.org Latin America
