In India, Marina Silva receives global award for contributions to sustainable development, climate action

On Wednesday, March 5, Brazil’s Minister for the Environment and Climate Change (Meio Ambiente e Mudança do Clima), Marina Silva, received the Sustainable Development Leadership Award in New Delhi, India. The tribute is paid by Indian organization The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) since 2005 to global leaders who are recognized for their exceptional contributions to the promotion of sustainability and climate action.

“In receiving this award, I understand that it is not merely a recognition of my individual work but also a testimony of the important role played by Brazil in the environmental and climate agenda,” stated the minister in her speech during the opening of the World Sustainable Development Summit (WSDS).

The Minister highlighted the country’s achievements in reducing deforestation in the Amazon by 46% in 2024, compared to 2022, reaching its lowest level in the last nine years, and the establishment, in 2023, of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) Mechanism as a means to increase financial flows to nature protection and payment for ecosystemic services. According to Marina Silva, the TFFF is expected to be operational by COP30, the UN Climate Conference that will be held in Belém in November.

She also mentioned the structured dialog among ministers of Finance and Environment and Central Bank presidents, promoted by the Brazilian G20 Presidency, to discuss climate financing. The initiative resulted in the launch of the Brazil Climate and Ecological Transformation Platform (BIP).

The Minister also mentioned Brazil’s presentation of the new climate goal under the Paris Agreement during COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024 — months in advance to the final deadline, in February this year. The new Brazilian NDC sets a target for the country to reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by 59% to 67% by 2035, based on 2005 levels.

Minister Marina Silva also addressed the expected results for COP30. “This must be the COP for accelerating implementation, ensuring that the commitments from Dubai and Baku are translated into concrete actions,” she highlighted. “We must advance the transition towards the end of fossil fuels, the end of deforestation, and we must increase climate financing to USD1.3 trillion per year, with the USD 300 billion promised by the developed countries as a starting point.”

The Vice President of Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo, also received the Sustainable Development Leadership Award. Recipients in previous years include the former Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Ban Ki-moon (2009); the former Prime Minister of Japan, Yukio Hatoyama (2010); the former President of the European Commission and the former Prime Minister of Portugal, José Manuel Durão Barroso (2015); the former Prime Minister of Fiji, Josaia V. Bainimarama (2019); and the former Mayor of New York and UN Special Envoy for Climate Solutions, Michael Bloomberg (2002).

BILATERAL MEETINGS — On the sidelines of the World Sustainable Development Summit, Minister Marina Silva held bilateral meetings with Muaviyath Mohamed, Minister of Tourism and Environment of the Maldives, and Bhupender Yadav, India's Minister of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change. She was accompanied by Brazil's Ambassador to India, Kenneth da Nóbrega.

The meetings covered key items on the COP30 negotiation agenda and the establishment of the Global Ethical Assessment (Balanço Ético Global /BEG), an initiative introduced by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The BEG aims to foster regional dialogues in critical areas worldwide, amplifying the voices of youth, women, scientists, religious leaders, artists, entrepreneurs, and activists. The goal is to drive mobilization around the Paris Agreement’s objective of limiting global warming to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels.

During the meeting with Yadav, the discussion also covered opportunities to strengthen BRICS, a bloc originally composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, with Brazil holding the presidency in 2025. A meeting of the group’s Environment Ministers is scheduled for April in Brasilia, Brazil.