During the final week of August, the favela-based Straight Talk Institute hosted ‘Straight Talk for Climate’ week in German Complexone of Rio de Janeiro’s largest groups of favelas, in the city’s North Zone. The aim was to discuss issues that will be addressed at the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) and to reflect on the role of Brazilian favelas in the post-conference context. Moderated by Raull Santiagoco-founder and executive director of the institute, the event brought together David Amenco-founder of the Roots in Movement Institute; Josef Mariaenvironmental educator and agroecological farmer from FrogOne of German Favelas; Urutau Guajajara, Chief of the Maraká’ná Village Multethnic Indigenous University; Jurema WerneckCOP30 special envoy for racial equality and peripheral communities; Marcelle Decothéstrategic director of the Pipa Initiative; COP30 executive director His toniand other participants from civil society and favelas.
Founded as the Straight Talk Collective after Complexo do Alemão’s 2015 floods and landslides, the youth group initially dedicated itself to the fight for social justice and against police violence during raids in favelas—especially in the Alemão and Pine complexes. As the impacts of climate change become increasingly evident in residents’ daily lives, Santiago says he decided to “return to our roots,” promoting the ‘Straight Talk for Climate’ event in Complexo do Alemão during Rio Climate Action Week.
“In the last three or four years, since the middle of the pandemicwe started noticing the importance of finding a strategy to discuss climate issues, to try to organize and strengthen local movements and residents here in the community. With Rio Climate Action Week, we created the ‘Straight Talk for Climate’ action week—a meeting point to share existing projects, with a strong focus on the favelas located along the Serra da Misericórdia, [a degraded urban hillside forest and the largest green space in Rio’s most populous region] within [Brazil’s broader] Atlantic Forest. – Raull Santiago
‘You Can’t Discuss Climate Solutions Without the Communities Directly Affected’
The discussions had the active participation of residents who shared historical climate solutions developed in the context of Complexo do Alemão and beyond.
“In 2001, there wasn’t a single tree on Avenida Central [in Complexo do Alemão]and that bothered us. So we started to think about planting small garden beds at the foot of the hill, in Largo da Morte. The name [Death Square] is heavy enough, isn’t it? The name itself evokes agony. We wanted to turn things green, as Luiz Poet used to say: ‘Let’s turn Serra da Misericórdia green, let’s turn Complexo do Alemão green!’ And we thought we’d like to turn Avenida Central green, too. With small seedlings, small garden beds, you know? Then we could have a bit of green, a bit of shade. Looking down from above, for example, we could see Cristo Faria with those wonderful trees, with that wonderful shade, and [imagined that Avenida] Central could be the same. So we started thinking about this change, this transformation from within the community—about what can be done with few resources. We were there occupying the space that the government should have been occupying, thinking of actions the government should necessarily have been thinking about, but wasn’t. Things were very different than they are today. It was an uphill battle; it’s always been an uphill battle, right? Our idea was to work in micro-areas to bring quality of life to that area.” — David Amen
Next, Josefa Maria recounted her experiences and the solutions she developed to improve Complexo do Alemão.
“I began as a volunteer at GREENJARand then I started to notice that, in general, Rio residents really like fried food—even more than in [the northeastern city of] Recife [where I come from]. That’s not good, right? But then I started to think about the issue of oil. Where does this oil go? How do people get rid of this oil? That’s when I started talking to residents about collecting it. I decided to do something about it, because in Recife I had joined with my neighbor and some nearby neighbors to start a recycling cooperative. So I started to do that kind of work here in Rio, too. During the pandemic, I began going door-to-door, just like I did in Recife.” — Josefa Maria
Josefa Maria spoke about this important work she did in the community, along with distributing baskets of basic foodstuffs.
“In 2020, at the very start, I set up the drop-off point for recycling on Rua Santa Terezinha. Anyone who’s ever walked up my street knows how much garbage there used to be—so much it overflowed downhill. There was nothing stopping that trash from going down, and I always thought, ‘Why?’ And people would say, ‘Oh, come on, you’re nothing, you’re not the president.’ But I’m a resident! And I wanted the good of the community—I wanted it looking clean and organized… So I went ahead and set up my little drop-off point. That was on March 6, 2020.” — Josefa Maria
Marcelle Decothé, born and raised in LUCAS PARADEalso in Rio’s North Zone, and a representative of the Pipa Initiative, was another powerful voice in the discussions. In her talk, Decothé shared the challenges of accessing resources in Brazil to fight the effects of climate change.
“I think COPs are events [meant] for countries to engage in discussion, for decisions that will take years to move forward—but they are important spaces. I believe people have a crucial symbolic and political role at the COP [conference]. In recent years, I’ve watched many climate organizations from peripheral communities focus their efforts on being at the COP. Because you can’t say you’re going to hold a COP in the Amazon without the people who live in the Amazon. That doesn’t make sense. Because the Amazon isn’t just trees, right? There are people, communities, populations [living there]. You can’t discuss the Atlantic Forest biome without talking about the people who live in the Atlantic Forest biome… You can’t discuss climate solutions without engaging with the communities that are directly affected, who are taking action.” — Marcelle Decothé
Jurema Werneck is a physician and internationally recognized leader of the Brazilian Black Movement, co-founder of the Black women’s rights organization Criola and a native of Morro dos Cabritosin Rio’s South Zone. As a COP30 special envoy, she joined the final panel to discuss what the conference represents for the Black population and favela residents.
“What is the COP for us? The COP is the moment for us to regroup, to review, to update our strategy. It’s our moment to find a way to do something. This COP, in particular, has a horizon, a haunting presence, doesn’t it? It has a ghost, which is the end of the world. Because they say the world is ending, don’t they? I don’t know about you, but where I come from, my world has ended many times. And it will keep going, along with the world. I have to say that, from my perspective, this world as it exists needs to end. So the COP, for me, is that moment—for us to help bring about the end of the world. The end of the world that kills, that must die, so that another world can be born.” — Jurema Werneck
Straight Talk for Climate week reaffirms how much favelas and peripheral areas are engaged and attentive, each in their own way seeking solutions to reduce the impacts of climate change in their communities.
About the author: CARLA REGINA AGUIAR DOS SANTOS was born and raised in Morro do Turano. Her work as a community journalist has always prioritized the day-to-day happenings in the favelas. Reporting what goes on beyond the view of traditional media, she has contributed to the Favela News Agency (ANF), Public, Me, Rio! and Terra. She received the ANF Award for journalism in the culture category and the Neuza Maria Award for Journalism.