The institutional delegation from Unicamp embarked this Friday (7) for Belém to participate in the first day of the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 30), which will take place from November 10 to 21 in Pará. In addition, the university will also be represented at the event by an academic delegation, selected via public notice.
The group will be responsible for organizing the institution's participation in University Pavilion, a unique space at conferences, located inside the Blue Zone (decision-making space) and structured by international networks of universities.
The venue will feature an extensive program of panels, some organized by Unicamp in partnership with other universities, discussing topics such as HIDS Unicamp (International Hub for Sustainable Development), energy transition, and sustainable management of university campuses (green areas, ecological corridors, and other initiatives).
“Our goal is to emphasize that universities have a role beyond producing science, training people, and carrying out outreach projects, as active agents in generating solutions and formulating policies for mitigating and adapting to climate change,” says Roberto Donato, coordinator of the Unicamp delegation at COP30.
According to Donato, Unicamp's expectation is to give more visibility to its sustainability initiatives and expand the articulation of university networks around the climate issue.
Due to logistical reasons, part of the delegation will arrive to participate at the beginning of the event. The remaining members will arrive throughout the two weeks of programming. The institutional delegation is composed of Donato, coordinator of HIDS Unicamp and advisor to the Rector's Office; Thalita Dalbelo, sustainability coordinator; David Lapola, researcher and vice-coordinator of the Center for Meteorological and Climatic Research Applied to Agriculture (Cepagr) and collaborator of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Luiz Carlos Silva, coordinator of the Sustainable Campus; Thyago Lins, management advisor to the Rector's Office; Eduardo Marandola, faculty advisor to the Pro-Rector of Research; Aline Carvalho, coordinator of the Center for Environmental Studies and Research (Nepam); Antonio José Meirelles, former rector of Unicamp and member of the Fapesp board; Patricia Mariuzzo, communications advisor for HIDS Unicamp; and Barbara Teruel, professor at the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering (Feagri) and Communication Coordinator at the Paulista Center for Studies on Energy Transition (CPTEn).
Academic delegation
Unicamp selected four faculty members and two graduate students to participate in COP30, with financial support. edict This initiative was carried out through a partnership between the Rector's Office and the Pro-Rectorate for Research (PRP). The recipients, from different fields of knowledge, were required to already have activities planned for the event and parallel activities.
Marandola emphasized that the presence of the Unicamp community is important to foster the institution's articulation and participation in an unavoidable issue. "We had excellent proposals, including those that ended up not being prioritized, but which also represent the different ways in which the Unicamp community is active in COP30."
Donato highlighted the breadth of proposals presented in the areas of humanities and technical areas of exact sciences and health. "Unicamp's participation [in COP] will be quite diverse, with events in..." Blue Zone, and on Green Zone and in the spaces of associations and companies.”
Indigenous participation
Doctoral candidate Martha Fellows Dourado's proposal was selected for funding, and the researcher will use the opportunity as a field study for her thesis, which investigates the relationship between indigenous peoples and climate change.
“I work from the perspective of indigenous peoples as political actors. In my research, I try to understand the impact of their actions on international climate change agreements,” she explains. The researcher will assess issues such as conditions for the arrival, stay, and participation of this population in the event.
Dourado has participated in the COPs since 2014 and says that the 2025 edition will have a strong indigenous presence, influenced by the Brazilian government, with 500 credentials for Brazilian indigenous people and another 500 for indigenous people of other nationalities.
Dourado's participation includes events in the Blue Zones (Indigenous Pavilion, Resilience Science Must-Knows and the Brazilian Pavilion) and Green Pavilion (Brazilian Pavilion) at COP30, in addition to other spaces, in partnership with various institutions. Besides being a doctoral candidate, she will also participate as a researcher at the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM).
Sustainable mining
Maria José Maluf de Mesquita is a professor at the Institute of Geosciences (IG) and investigates the implementation of sustainability in small-scale mining, in projects in partnership with institutions from the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Colombia. Since last year, she has coordinated a the project which aims for positive transformation in the artisanal and small-scale tin mining sector in Brazil, particularly in the Amazon region. At COP30, the professor plans to present and discuss these and other projects.
“It’s a demonized topic. It’s important to discuss the geological aspect, because the demands of capitalism are endless—we’re not going to stop using cell phones, computers… The energy transition needs mining much more than the use of fossil fuels. We need to discuss where these minerals, which are difficult to find, will come from, and at what price.”
In addition to being part of the official Unicamp delegation, Mesquita also represents the Unicamp Faculty Association (ADunicamp) at the event. People's Summit, as a member of the Agrarian, Urban and Environmental Policy Working Group (GT-PAUA) of the association. This is an autonomous event, built by social movements, that seeks to construct a political agenda for a just and solidarity-based transition. “We cannot have progress without caring for the environment and for people. I believe this event will make a lot of noise. I want to participate and hear both sides, even to be able to compare.”
The teacher was also selected through edict, to join the Brazilian national delegation, receiving access credentials to the Blue Zone. This is Mesquista's first time participating in COP.
energy transition
Professor Ana Flavia Nogueira from the Institute of Chemistry (IQ), who directs the Center for Innovation in New Energies (CINEMATOGRAPHY) since 2020, will also be participating in the event for the first time.
Nogueira was invited by Banco Itaú (a CINE partner since 2023) to participate in and moderate panels at Climate Action Solutions & Engagement (CASE), a private sector initiative with R$1 trillion in funding to promote concrete climate solutions with the potential for international scaling, will have programming in Belém during COP.
“Taking the name of CINE at Unicamp [to COP] is already a great achievement. Participating in CASE shows Itaú's confidence in the work we are doing. I also want to bring some discussions to strengthen the area of energy transition at the University,” says the professor.
Intersection between health and environmental crisis
Doctoral candidate Helena Fonseca Rodrigues, also selected through the call for proposals, advocates for strengthening the dialogue between health and climate in a cross-cutting and proactive way. “Health must be a structuring axis of climate discussions. It is through health that we will express, in a very direct way, the effects of this environmental crisis on the lives of populations – whether through the increase in infectious diseases, mental health problems, food insecurity, forced displacement, or other very profound impacts on people's way of life,” she argues.
Through his work in Observatory of Sustainable and Healthy Territories of BocainaThe student and psychologist recounts witnessing firsthand how climate tragedies have affected the mental health of traditional peoples and communities in the Paraty region (Rio de Janeiro). Her research investigates drug use in traditional coastal communities impacted by climate tragedies.
For Rodrigues, in the Brazilian context, discussing climate means discussing the social and environmental determinants of health, territorial justice, and human rights. “The presence at COP30 reinforces the need to think about integrated solutions that articulate adaptation, mitigation, and the promotion of well-being, and to recognize the central role of the public health system in responding to climate emergencies.” At the Conference, Rodrigues will participate in events at the People's Summit and in... Marangatu Network.
Cover photo:
