Segal Family Foundation
The Segal Family Foundation (SFF) is a social impact funder and advisor. It invests in visionary local leaders with bold ideas and huge potential to transform society and helps progressive donors do the same.
Institute Climate and Society (iCS) supports institutions that aim to strengthen the Brazilian economy through the reduction of inequality by tackling climate change and promoting sustainable solutions.
Principle
Cíntya Feitosa, International Relations Advisor and Brazil Climate Action Hub Coordinator
Institute Climate and Society (iCS) supports institutions that aim to strengthen the Brazilian economy through the reduction of inequality by tackling climate change and promoting sustainable solutions. In addition to financing projects, iCS promotes dialogue between sectors, gathers knowledge, and establishes networks of information, intelligence and cooperation in the promotion of the climate agenda.
In 2019, the federal government’s inaction on climate change issues became worse. Brazilian governments, before 2019 had taken an international position in favour of biodiversity protection and addressing climate change, but a change of governments led to deprioritisation and attacks on the climate agenda.
The most significant challenge was fulfilling a role previously led by the Brazilian government. It was necessary to demonstrate that, under the leadership of several other actors, climate action remained robust in the country..
In a country as diverse as Brazil, iCS believed that the most effective way to organise international representation on climate action was to create an independent and unbranded convening space to facilitate the country’s cross-sectoral participation at COP25. This place would be inclusive of multiple perspectives and would be recognised as a home by all Brazilians who participated in the event.
iCS facilitated the establishment of a coalition of Brazilian civil society organisations to create the Brazil Climate Action Hub. Its main objective was to host debates during COP25, held in Madrid, Spain, in 2019, that would help to profile Brazil’s multi-sectoral climate action. This initiative was carried out at the following two COPs in Glasgow and Sharm El-Sheikh, and the debates marked an innovation in the way that activism was conducted in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) space, which was only possible with philanthropic support.
The Brazil Climate Action Hub invited input not just from environmental organisations but also from the business sector engaged in climate, nonprofit organisations, parliamentarians, national and local government, academia, youth, social movements, traditional communities and media. Since many of these actors had no other spaces in common, the Hub became one of respect for differences and unlikely dialogues.
Driving the climate change agenda in a fraught political landscape presented many challenges and required a neutral convener who would not favour any one sector’s climate priorities above another. As a philanthropic organisation, iCS fulfilled a convening role that helped to level the playing field for all actors involved. To reinforce collective action within the Hub, organisations involved did not seek brand recognition, instead focusing on equitably engaging the diverse audience and different expertise existing within the group and united around a common objective: showcasing Brazilian climate action led by non-state actors. It was also a way to ensure equal participation from all sectors, avoiding power asymmetry between smaller organisations and organisations with larger communication and financial capacity. Finally, it was important for iCS and partners that all stakeholders and participants felt ownership of the initiative. Clearly defining and jointly agreeing on the hub’s concept and objectives helped strengthen the feeling of ownership among the actors and enabled them to create an initiative without any individual branding.
To create collective ownership of the Hub among all the partners of the initiative, iCS played a coordinating, rather than a leading or curatorial role. The Institute called on the various participating actors to share what they believed would be important to discuss at the Hub. COP25 attracted significant political engagement, with parliamentarians like the President of the Senate and then Environmental Minister Ricardo Salles talking to participants from Brazilian society and other stakeholders present.
Recognising that an official United Nations event could be an intimidating environment, particularly for first-time COP attendees, iCS communicated clearly and checked in regularly with all actors within the Hub, and played a connecting role among them to support networking and potential partnerships. The Institute also ensured translation from English to Portuguese, which is not an official language at the United Nations. This commitment to diversifying participation helped broaden discussions and input, with topics like climate justice and gender, and food systems being added to the agenda of the Hub.
iCS undertook considerable financial and non-financial risks to realise the Hub. The Institute invested heavily to get actors to COP25, and the conferences that followed. These expenses sky-rocketed in the first year, when the conference — which was initially planned to take place in Chile — moved much further away from Brazil to Madrid. The risks continued even once the actors had convened at COP. Since the first edition of the Hub was being convened against the backdrop of a climate denialist Brazilian government at the time, its activities were monitored by government spies. Such tensions were palpable but well-managed during COP25, for example, when the Minister of Environment at the time, Ricardo Salles engaged with members of civil society and vocal activists who opposed his views..
completed an external evaluation of the initiative, which included interviews with actors and reviews of news and reports. It is difficult to quantitatively measure impact but the significant Brazilian media coverage of COP, both related and unrelated to the Hub, was significant. Thanks to the communication strategy around the initiative, which included a digital awareness campaign; capacity building for coverage of environmental issues specifically related to COP proceedings — which was provided to up to as many as 50 journalists; and hosting members of Brazil’s mainstream media at the event, an increased media coverage was ensured.
This was important for local environmental advocacy and education and helped to profile a range of organisations working to address climate issues. The Hub facilitated participation from and engagement with the transition government. In 2022, iCS’s and partners’ efforts to maintain the country’s relevance within the international climate agenda were recognised by then president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and new ministers, who met with civil society during COP27 to demonstrate openness to cooperation.
that had not previously expressed interest in the international climate agenda began to observe the COPs and engage in the issues due to their engagement in the Hub.
of new partnerships was made possible by meetings between different organisations which took place during COPs, as well as during preparation for events. Through the Hub, several memorandums of understanding, sectoral pledges and declarations on the relevance of democracy for environmental policies and the climate agenda were launched, and many meetings and events with international embassies and governments were hosted..
The Segal Family Foundation (SFF) is a social impact funder and advisor. It invests in visionary local leaders with bold ideas and huge potential to transform society and helps progressive donors do the same.
The Luksic Foundation (LF) is a family foundation that focuses on strengthening people’s capacities through training to contribute to Chile’s development.
Institute Climate and Society (iCS) supports institutions that aim to strengthen the Brazilian economy through the reduction of inequality by tackling climate change and promoting sustainable solutions.