By Lucas Guaraldo*
Last Wednesday, March 13, was the closing ceremony of the first Virada Parlamentar Sustentável (Sustainable Parliamentary Turn), created to promote debate and involve congressmen in the most current debates on the environmental agenda. In all, 37 events, including acts, public hearings and seminars, were held by the Virada in the House and Senate, impacting around 88 legislative proposals related to the environment, science, education and economy.
In addition to providing technical support for the production of the Virada materials, researchers from IPAM (Amazon Institute for Environmental Research) participated in three public hearings focused on the areas of environmental education, climate justice and the carbon market. The actions, which began in May 2023, involved the participation of 65 civil society organizations related to the environment and the biodiversity protection.
“The Sustainable Parliamentary Turn is a movement that was born out of the union and collaborative effort of civil society organizations and has been a driving force for the necessary changes in Brazilian environmental policy and points to a future in which Brazil can assume global environmental leadership by example,” said Congresswoman Socorro Neri (PP-AC), coordinator of the Parliamentary Front for a Just Climate Transition during the event.
Throughout the celebration, planning meetings were held for the second edition of Virada Parlamentar Sustentável, scheduled for May and June 2024. In its second year, the event aims to address climate denialism and agendas related to climate justice, as well as providing data to qualify the debate in the municipal elections in October.
Public Hearings
On September 27 and 28, Paulo Moutinho, senior researcher at IPAM, and Eugênio Pantoja, director of Public Policy and Territorial Development, participated in public hearings held as part of the Sustainable Parliamentary Turn. During the two-day event, participants debated the inclusion of climate education in the Brazilian school curriculum and the role of carbon credits in the sustainable development of the Amazon.
In October, Patrícia Pinho, IPAM’s Deputy Science Director, took part in a debate on the social impacts of climate change on food production and the quality of life of small farmers and people living in poverty. IPAM also presented data on the impact of climate change on the poorest communities in the Amazon biome.
IPAM journalist, lucas.itaborahy@ipam.org*