Statement by the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ambassador Sérgio França Danese, on the occasion of the celebration of the World Environment Day at the United Nations - June 5th, 2025

Madam Moderator,

Excellencies, dear colleagues, ladies and gentlemen

I wish to express Brazil’s appreciation to the Republic of Korea for hosting this year’s World Environment Day.

Today, we are reminded that protecting and conserving the environment is not only a moral duty to future generations — it is one of the three foundational pillars of sustainable development, alongside social inclusion and economic development. [MOU1] Neglecting the environmental dimension undermines our collective efforts to build just, resilient, inclusive and thriving societies.

Placing the critical issue of plastic pollution at the center of our reflections today was an excellent initiative.

Brazil strongly supports the ongoing negotiations toward an international legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, one of the most challenging issues in our times.

But we must be clear-eyed about the disparities in capacity that persist among countries. Many developing nations face structural obstacles in designing and enforcing regulatory frameworks, accessing sustainable technologies, and upgrading waste management systems. An effective treaty must bridge these gaps by establishing strong mechanisms for international cooperation, particularly in science, capacity building, financing and regulatory support.

Ambition must be matched with solidarity. Commitments will only be meaningful if they are backed by adequate, predictable and additional financial resources and the transfer of appropriate technologies. Developing countries cannot be asked to do more with less.

And as we move toward a sustainable future, we must also ensure that it is a just transition. This includes social protections and decent livelihoods for workers — particularly waste pickers and those in vulnerable communities — who are often the silent backbone of our recycling systems.

Dear colleagues,

As we look ahead to COP30, set to take place in the heart of the Amazon in Belém do Pará, Brazil views this as a pivotal opportunity — not just for multilateral climate negotiations, but for reshaping the global approach to the climate crisis and thus to the protection of the environment. COP30 must represent a shift: from dialogue to delivery, from commitments to concrete outcomes, and from aspiration to action.

To help catalyze this transformation, Brazil is introducing a groundbreaking initiative: the Global Mutirão — a worldwide movement of grassroots, self-driven climate contributions. Drawing from the Brazilian tradition of community collaboration, the mutirão invites individuals, communities, businesses, and institutions everywhere to take part, each offering what they can in a shared spirit of collective responsibility and action.

To support this mobilization, the Presidency also announced the creation of four visionary leadership circles: the Circle of COP Presidents; the Circle of Peoples, to amplify indigenous and traditional voices; the Circle of Finance Ministers; and the Global Ethical Stocktake, to inspire values-based climate action.

The success of COP 30 will certainly be a game changer in our common fight to protect and restore the environment worldwide. As the Brazilian Indigenous thinker Ailton Krenak wisely said:

 “Until we change our way of inhabiting the world, all solutions will be illusions.”

Thank you.