“Women, Climate and Power” event, organized by Plataforma CIPÓ and partners, brings together authorities from Brazil and around the world to discuss gender equality and climate justice
By Mariana Franco Ramos, with information from Thaís Domingos
The strength of women in building solutions to the climate crisis marked the morning of this Thursday (13) at COP30 in Belém. Organized by Plataforma CIPÓ, the Club de Madrid, the Women’s Secretariat of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies, the Women’s Rights Defense Committee, and the Consortium of the Legal Amazon, the event “Women, Climate and Power” brought together national and international leaders committed to defending women’s rights and promoting fair and inclusive climate policies.
The meeting featured key figures from the political and social landscape, such as Michelle Bachelet, former president of Chile; Cármen Lúcia, Justice of the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF); Janja Lula da Silva, COP30 Special Envoy for Women; Ministers Anielle Franco (Racial Equality), Márcia Lopes (Women), and Sonia Guajajara (Indigenous Peoples); the governor of Rio Grande do Norte, Fátima Bezerra; federal deputies Jack Rocha (PT-ES), Célia Xakriabá (PSOL-MG), Dandara (PT-MG), Benedita da Silva (PT-RJ), and Jandira Feghali (PCdoB-RJ); as well as María Elena Agüero, Secretary-General of the Club de Madrid. Plataforma CIPÓ’s executive director, Maiara Folly, moderated the panel.
“We need the strength of women at the decision-making table”
In her keynote address, Michelle Bachelet emphasized the urgency of increasing women’s participation in decision-making spaces, especially in the face of the escalating climate crisis.
“We have a unique opportunity — and we need the strength of women leading decision-making. Not symbolically, but at the center of decision-making processes,” she stated.
Bachelet highlighted that climate justice and gender equality are inseparable agendas that must advance together in the transition toward more sustainable development models.
Black and Indigenous women’s voices at the center of the debate
The Minister for Racial Equality, Anielle Franco, moved the audience as she spoke about the collective journey of Black women in politics and in the fight for rights.
“We, Black women, when we reach these spaces, never arrive alone. We always arrive carrying dreams.” She emphasized the importance of female solidarity and community-based work that has sustained resistance movements for decades:
“From the beginning, we have thought about how to strengthen one another. It is often women who are doing the caring, in work that frequently goes unpaid.” Anielle Franco also stressed the need to protect quilombola territories, improve urban infrastructure in favelas, and ensure safety for women:
“Women are indeed protagonists of their own stories. We cannot accept being harassed or murdered, just as our leaders continue to be.”
Cármen Lúcia: Gender equality remains a structural challenge
STF Justice Cármen Lúcia offered a sharp analysis of the inequalities that persist in Brazil and around the world:
“We live in a world full of indignities — and some constitutions have made it very clear: the state exists so that people may coexist, fulfill their destinies, and be happy. But women continue to be treated as objects.”
She stressed that global challenges — climate, inequality, and the situation of women — must be addressed urgently and in an integrated way:
“Our Constitution explicitly states that men and women are equal, yet we continue to have one of the worst rates of female representation in legislative bodies.”
Women at the center of climate action
Participants stressed that there is no viable future for the planet without women’s leadership. Ministers Márcia Lopes and Sonia Guajajara reinforced the essential role of women in shaping public policy, protecting Brazil’s biomes, and defending human rights. Federal deputy Jack Rocha (PT-ES) noted that the climate crisis already directly affects the most vulnerable populations and that care must guide climate policy:
“Climate change is not the future — it is today’s hunger, it is the lack of access. We must care for one another and build policies rooted in care. We know very well that to hold power, women need solidarity. May each of us hold the hand of another, leaving no one behind.”
Plataforma CIPÓ reinforces its commitment to the gender and climate agenda
Moderating the session, Plataforma CIPÓ’s executive director Maiara Folly emphasized that including women — especially Black, Indigenous, and traditional community women — in decision-making spaces is essential for advancing effective climate solutions.
The event concluded with a collective call for greater representation, greater equality, and stronger climate action grounded in social and gender justice.
