To the leaders and delegations present at the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change,
The Humanitas360 Institute is present at this COP30 with proposals that seek to build bridges between social justice and climate justice. Two concepts that, when dissociated, compromise the impact of any authentic project of socio-environmental transformation. We are in Belém also representing the entire ecosystem maintained by PDR Philanthropic Fund, such as H360 itself and Instituto Ficus, as well as social businesses like CIVI-CO, Tereza and Scirama Psychedelic Science. Our team will have access to both the Blue Zone and the Green Zone of the event, working simultaneously in these two fundamental territories of this Conference.
In the Blue Zone, the restricted space of official negotiations where the direction of international climate policies is defined, we wish to contribute perspectives based on projects and research that demonstrate concrete pathways to reparation, sustainability and inclusion. In the Green Zone, the democratic territory of public access where civil society, institutions and global leaders connect dialogue and innovation, we will seek to strengthen the plurality of voices that must characterize any genuine response to the climate emergency. It is precisely in this articulation between spaces of formal decision-making and territories of collective construction that we believe lies the transformative potential of this COP.
As an example of the connection we advocate between social justice and climate justice, we highlight the urgent revision of the Brazilian Drug Law, with a dual objective: (a) combat mass incarceration, which only feeds the growth of criminal factions, and at the same time (b) unlock the environmental and economic potential of industrial Hemp. This agricultural crop, widely exploited in other countries, can contribute to the country’s sustainable development through its high potential for carbon sequestration, recovery of degraded areas and profitability per hectare.
It is essential to recall that Brazil is a signatory to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961, which in its article 28, paragraph 2, expressly exempts Hemp for industrial purposes (fiber and seed) from the restrictions applied to various narcotic drugs. The text states unequivocally: “This Convention shall not apply to the cultivation of the cannabis plant exclusively for industrial purposes (fibre and seed) or horticultural purposes.” This international normative clarity contrasts eloquently with the regulatory paralysis that still prevents Brazil from developing a Hemp economy that could benefit rural communities, generate decent jobs and contribute significantly to climate mitigation.
Our team at COP30 consists of legal consultant Larissa de Melo Itri and projects analyst Larissa Cordeiro, from the Humanitas360 Institute. Through them, we bring not only technical proposals, but a commitment to a debate that recognizes the intersections between climate crisis, structural inequality and human rights.
To the leaders present at this Conference, we direct a call: that the debates held in this privileged space not be limited to technical adjustments or superficial agreements, but genuinely commit to climate justice that is also social, racial and economic justice. Climate democracy demands that historically silenced voices — from the peripheries, from indigenous and quilombola territories, from prisons — be recognized as bearers of essential knowledge for the construction of habitable futures.
What we are bringing to COP30
At the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30), which will be held in Brazil, the Institute will act on four priority advocacy axes:
1. Drug Policy and Climate Justice
Drug policy has direct effects on vulnerable communities, indigenous populations, quilombolas and residents of peripheries. The current repression structure that results in mass incarceration has amplified racial and social inequalities — a process that cannot be dissociated from the climate crisis, since the same populations criminalized by the war on drugs are those most exposed to the impacts of climate change.
Proposals for COP30:
- Reduction of structural harms and promotion of sustainable economies as alternatives to illicit economies;
- Support for territorial development and agroecological models in regions affected by prohibition;
- Integration between drug policies, human rights and the environment, aligned with recent resolutions of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND).
This agenda connects directly to the work that the Institute developed with the National Council for Criminal and Penitentiary Policy (CNPCP), linked to the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, promoting debates and hearings on drug policy and climate justice and advocating an approach based on public health, reparation and sustainability.
2. Hemp: Climate and Economic Solution
Hemp represents one of the most promising solutions for ecological transition. With rapid growth, low water consumption and high carbon sequestration potential, it is raw material for bioplastics, textiles, construction materials and medicines. While the world advances in the economic and environmental exploitation of this crop, Brazil remains trapped in restrictive interpretations that ignore both the international framework and the transformative potential of this plant.
Proposals for COP30:
- Demonstrate Hemp’s potential as a tool for climate mitigation and green development;
- Expand international dialogue on fair and sustainable Cannabis regulation, focusing on economic justice and historical reparation;
- Reinforce the importance of scientific research and public-private partnerships, based on experiences such as the Venice Architecture Biennale, where the Institute presented an installation made with hemp panels.
On this agenda, we will have the opportunity to share data from the report “Regulatory Pathways for Hemp in Brazil” (2025), produced by Embrapa and Instituto Ficus with the Working Group for the Promotion of Hemp Development in Brazil, chaired by Patrícia Villela Marino within the Council for Sustainable Economic and Social Development, the “Conselhão” of the Presidency of the Republic.
3. Social Cooperatives and Inclusive Green Economy
Social cooperatives represent a real alternative for productive inclusion, especially for groups in vulnerable situations, such as incarcerated people and those leaving the prison system. In a context where just transition is discussed, it is unacceptable that imprisoned populations — predominantly Black and poor — remain excluded from green chains and opportunities generated by the climate economy.
Our goal is to promote at COP30 the integration of social cooperatives of incarcerated people into the debate on green economy and just transition, highlighting:
- The role of cooperatives in solid waste management and recycling, strengthening initiatives such as Pimp My Carroça and RECO;
- The importance of models that combine decent work, autonomy and environmental sustainability, especially in the prison system;
- The urgency of including hyper-vulnerable people in green and climate innovation chains, ensuring that the transition is inclusive and reparative.
4. Philanthropy and Climate Finance
Climate philanthropy has a strategic role in supporting community initiatives and social technologies that guarantee access to rights and adaptation to climate change. While major climate funds often privilege large-scale projects, it is in community-based initiatives that we frequently find the most innovative solutions adapted to local realities.
At COP30, the Institute will present its experiences and proposals to strengthen the ecosystem of fair financing, highlighting the project:
- Potable Water Coalition for Indigenous Peoples, which between 2023 and 2025 guaranteed access to treated water in all the main villages of the Sete de Setembro Indigenous Land, home of the Paiter Suruí in the states of Rondônia and Mato Grosso.
The presence of Instituto Humanitas360 and the PDR Philanthropic Fund ecosystem at COP30 is not limited to the presentation of technical proposals. It is an ethical commitment to building a future where the response to the climate crisis does not reproduce — but rather dismantles — the structures of exclusion that have historically marked our society. This is the horizon that moves us and that we hope to share with the leaders present at this Conference.
Sincerely,
Patrícia R. L. Villela Marino
President of Instituto Humanitas360
Co-founder of PDR Philanthropic Fund
