{"id":320774,"date":"2022-11-11T18:15:26","date_gmt":"2022-11-11T21:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/elas-sao-jovens-defensoras-do-clima-e-estao-na-cop27\/"},"modified":"2022-11-15T08:32:25","modified_gmt":"2022-11-15T11:32:25","slug":"brazilian-teen-girls-climate-advocates-at-cop27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/brazilian-teen-girls-climate-advocates-at-cop27\/","title":{"rendered":"Brazilian teen girls, climate advocates, at COP27"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sharm El Sheikh \u2013 Watching a rerun of Brazil\u2019s TV Globo\u2019s late show Altas Horas, Thalita Silva, from the east side of the city of Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazonas, got to know Engajamundo, a youth leadership organization working on socio-environmental issues. Today, at her second United Nations Climate Conference (UNFCCC), she arrived as a land, popular education, and Amazonian youth activist. Pictured above (left to right), Daniela Cruz, B\u00e1rbara Pereira, and Thalita Silva.<\/em><\/p>\n

Thalita is 25 years old and has a Biology undergraduate degree from Brazil\u2019s Literatus College. Born and raised in Manaus and living in the largest suburban area of the capital of Amazonas, Thalita says she has always experienced the impacts of environmental racism, but she did not realize it existed. \u201cThe neighborhood I live in is not even on the maps, so issues such as sanitation, infrastructure, and violence, have always been very present in my life, but I had no idea this was a debate about environmental racism and climate change,\u201d she told ANBA at COP27.<\/p>\n

After watching the Altas Horas show, Talita, who did not have an internet connection at home, wrote down the organization\u2019s website and, the following day, in her technical school, signed up to participate. \u201cThat\u2019s where I started. Through Engajamundo<\/em>, I traveled, left Manaus for the first time, and made my first international trip. I discovered a world we usually do not have access to because there are few opportunities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Representativeness<\/strong><\/p>\n

Engajamundo brought 19 teenagers and young adults from different regions of Brazil to COP27<\/strong>. The participants include indigenous, black, people from traditional communities, and rural areas of the country who act locally and take the knowledge acquired in these major events and climate guidelines to their communities. \u201cThe issue of climate and climate change is very elitist, and populations historically more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change have other demands; for survival, which have increased in recent years, such as poverty, hunger, and lack of sanitation. The climate seems to be a subject very distant from the reality of these people,\u201d said Thalita, who also observed there is little representation in spaces such as the COP.<\/p>\n

To remedy this problem, Thalita said she works with popular education, absorbing knowledge from the COP and transforming it into a more accessible and democratic language. \u201cEspecially for these [more vulnerable] populations, because they are the ones who will and are already suffering directly from the impacts of the climate crisis,\u201d she said. Her first COP was in 2018, COP24, in Katowice, Poland.<\/p>\n

\"\"
B\u00e1rbara, Daniela, and Thalita: The world is theirs<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

B\u00e1rbara Pereira<\/strong> is 26 years old and comes from the city of Santo Estev\u00e3o, in the countryside of the state of Bahia. With an undergraduate degree in Energy Engineering from the Federal University of the Bahia Rec\u00f4ncavo (UFRB), she is a national articulator of Engajamundo, where she has been working for three years. She also volunteers at the Brazilian Network of Women in Solar Energy (MESOL). Her leading causes are energy and gender equity within the energy sector.<\/p>\n

Participation in COP27, for B\u00e1rbara, is vital to take this information and communication to where it does not usually reach. \u201cOur role here is to understand what is under discussion and bring this knowledge to our communities,\u201d she said. Barbara said this is her first international trip, and she is thrilled to be in Sharm El Sheikh not only for her activism but also as an energy sector professional.<\/p>\n

For her, energy and climate go hand in hand. \u201cYou cannot think about energy without thinking about climate and climate change. The renewable energy sector, where I work, is driven by climate demands; we see the entry of solar, wind, and other renewable sources came from this climate demand,\u201d said B\u00e1rbara. The engineer says the sector is primarily male, and her role is to raise some provocations. \u201cWhy aren\u2019t women part of these discussions? Why aren\u2019t women working in this sector? After all, half the population is female,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

According to Barbara, the few women in the energy sector are predominantly white and from the Global North. \u201cAnd we know the black population, along with the riverine and native people, are the most affected by climate change, also because of the economic and geographic issues,\u201d she declared.<\/p>\n

Losses and damages<\/strong><\/p>\n

Barbara said European countries, impacted by the energy crisis resulting from the war between Russia and Ukraine, could have a more active role in dealing with climate issues at this Climate Conference. However, when the subject is the financing of losses and damages, a unique topic in this COP, the woman from Bahia noticed the developed countries are dodging the issue in the discussions she participated. \u201cAdaptation and loss and damage need funding, and nobody wants to foot the bill, so these matters are likely to drag on for a while,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

Generally, African countries and small oceanic islands are the most impacted by climate change and, consequently, most in need of damage financing. \u201cThe tragedies are already happening, and they will worsen. So how will this population survive without this aid, without anyone wanting to take on this responsibility?\u201d asked B\u00e1rbara.<\/p>\n

Daniela Cruz<\/strong>, from the city of Itabi, in the interior of the state of Sergipe, has a forestry engineering undergraduate degree from the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS) and is 29 years old. She works on gender and climate activism issues and is an election strategy manager of Engajamundo. She is also a volunteer at Empoderaclima, a youth organization from the Global South addressing the impacts of climate change on women.<\/p>\n

Like B\u00e1rbara, this is also Daniela\u2019s first international trip. \u201cIt is important for us to be in this space, taking part in the discussions,\u201d said Daniela about COP27. In Sarm El Sheikh, she attended meetings and Al Gore\u2019s speech for youth. On being part of Engajamundo\u2019s election strategy, the woman from Sergipe said the work this year was intense, with actions for young people to register to vote and turn up at polls, showing how they can articulate, organize and change their reality, communities, cities, and states.<\/p>\n

Youth Pavilion<\/strong><\/p>\n

COP27 is the first edition of the climate conference to have a youth pavilion, which brings together teens from all over the world to discuss climate issues. \u201cPeople enter the pavilion and recognize each other. The COP space as a whole is not designed for young people, so that place is where we can meet and connect with youths from other continents with different experiences who are also there fighting the climate crisis, so it is a very welcoming space, the most welcoming in the COP,\u201d observed Thalita.<\/p>\n

Hope<\/strong><\/p>\n

And what do Brazilian youth expect from COP27? B\u00e1rbara, Thalita, and Daniela hope to see Brazil return to a leading role in the climate discussion and the country present a new Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really hope Brazil\u2019s reputation improves and the country becomes more ambitious in the fight against climate change,\u201d said Thalita. \u201cBrazil had always been a protagonist, and we want it to return to that position, call upon other countries, put itself as a leader, and become a voice to unite, not to divide,\u201d said B\u00e1rbara.<\/p>\n

Engajamundo was created in 2012 and is reaching ten years of commitment with Brazilian youth in global debates on climate, sustainable cities and communities, biodiversity, and gender issues. They also have innovation and communications laboratories. The trips are paid for with fundraising and public notices. Today, Engajamundo operates in 18 Brazilian states and the Federal District.<\/p>\n

Translated by El\u00fasio Brasileiro<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bruna Garcia\/ANBA<\/div>\n
Bruna Garcia\/ANBA<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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