20.06.2018
Climate Alliance front and centre at the 4th Amazonian Summit in Brazil
On 19 June, Climate Alliance board member Ronald van Meygaarden addressed over 300 representatives of nine Amazon Basin countries at the COICA’s 4th Amazon Summit. “Although our communities are separated by thousands of miles, we face common social and environmental problems,” explained the Mayor of Geldermalsen, (NL) in his plenary contribution on climate ambition. “To tackle climate change, we need to work together and support action at the local level.” During this June's events in Brazil, Climate Alliance is seeking to trigger a discussion within COICA, its indigenous partner organisation, on their energy strategy. The summit focussed on climate change along with other topics of particular importance to the indigenous peoples of Amazonia such as economy of life, self-governance of indigenous territories, infrastructure and post-extractivism, the criminalisation of indigenous peoples and interreligious dialogue. Van Meygaarden is a member of the eight-person Climate Alliance delegation currently in Macapá, Brazil to discuss the many challenges indigenous peoples are currently facing. The event was preceded by the 2nd Congress of Indigenous Women of the Amazon and will be followed by the COICA Congress from 20 to 22 June. A group of 17 young indigenous adults from four Amazonian countries are helping Climate Alliance to document the week’s events.
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