In Conversation with Brazil’s Environment Minister Marina Silva

Plant-for-the-Planet at the F20 Climate Solutions Forum 2024

In early June, the F20 Climate Solutions Forum 2024 took place in Brazil. The goal of F20 is to align the policies of G20 countries with the Paris Climate Agreement and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Among the attendees were representatives from politics, business, civil society, science, and the foundation sector, as well as around 20 young Climate Justice Ambassadors from Brazil. 

These Ambassadors presented their “Letter for a Healthier Planet” to the audience, which they had developed a few days earlier during a Plant-for-the-Planet Academy. They then officially handed it over to the F20 leadership, who announced that they would incorporate it into their Recommendations for Action to the G20 countries.

Immediately after the network meeting, our founder Felix Finkbeiner and Luciano Frontelle  (Executive Director at Plant-for-the-Planet Brazil) had an appointment with Brazil’s Environment Minister, Marina Silva. They discussed the current situation in the Amazon rainforest and how Germany and other countries can contribute to financing the Amazon Fund to ensure the long-term protection of the rainforest. Finally, Marina Silva invited Felix to attend and give a speech at the National Youth Conference for the Environment, which is going to be held in Brazil in 2025. 

Another great example of combining youth engagement and political commitment is a project in Belo Horizonte, which Plant-for-the-Planet Brazil has initiated in close partnership with the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment: The project’s goal is to create two green urban areas in the city of Belo Horizonte and to train 400 new Climate Justice Ambassadors, in order to increase environmental awareness and responsibility in cities.