From Washington to Belém: Parliamentary Diplomacy in Defense of Climate, Democracy and Multilateralism
Por Maiara Folly*
Between December 4 and 6, 2024, a delegation of progressive Brazilian congressional members was in Washington D.C. for a series of strategic meetings with their U.S. counterparts and other key actors, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the State Department, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (ECLAC).
The goal? To reinforce the commitment between Brazil and the United States in defending democracy, promoting climate action, and sustainable development, in contrast to the setbacks in these areas, intensified with the election of Donald Trump.
The initiative, led by the Plataforma CIPÓ, the Washington Brazil Office (WBO) and the Secretariat for Institutional Relations (SRI) of the Presidency of the Republic, was supported by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the Climate and Society Institute (ICS). This mission is part of a broader effort to strengthen parliamentary diplomacy as an instrument of international cooperation to address global challenges, including the climate crisis and threats to democracy and multilateralism.
The trip took place in a challenging context. The disappointing results of COP29, held in Baku, Azerbaijan, combined with the growth of governments that oppose international cooperation in favor of sustainability — evidenced by actions such as abandoning the Paris Agreement — compromise the global capacity to advance fair green transitions and contain global warming within the 1.5ºC limit. At the same time, the rise of anti-democratic discourse and the growing articulation of far-right actors — exemplified by the significant mobilization of Brazilian parliamentarians around Donald Trump's inauguration — highlight the urgent need to intensify channels of dialogue and cooperation between Brazil and the United States, especially between key actors committed to defending democracy, human rights, and environmental preservation.
In Donald Trump's first term, in addition to Congress, the mobilization of subnational actors — including governors and mayors of states with great economic and political influence, such as California and Chicago — played a relevant role in promoting efforts to align economic sectors with a low-carbon economy. These actors were also fundamental in preserving some policies to protect human rights and welcome migrants, which were constantly threatened by the federal administration.
In Brazil, a similar articulation was observed during the government of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), resulting in the creation and strengthening of strategic alliances, such as the Interstate Consortium for Sustainable Development of the Legal Amazon and the Green Brazil Consortium, currently led by the government of the State of Espírito Santo. In addition, organizations such as the Brazilian Association of State Environmental Entities (ABEMA) gained prominence, consolidating themselves as key actors in the coordination of environmental and climate policies at the subnational level.
In the United States, the Trump 2.0 administration imposes even greater challenges, with repercussions both domestically and globally. In the first days after taking office on January 20, 2025, his administration issued dozens of executive orders with drastic measures, including the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization (WHO), in addition to the abrupt suspension of much of the United States' international assistance. These actions directly impact initiatives aimed at disaster relief, refugee aid, health programs, and poverty alleviation.
Although some of these measures have been blocked, at least temporarily, by courts — many of them as a result of legal actions brought by members of parliamentary from the Democratic Party — the current situation reinforces the need to redouble the articulation between progressive forces. After all, these challenges are not limited to the United States. The far right continues to grow stronger in countries such as Brazil and Argentina, in addition to expanding its influence in Europe and other democracies around the world.
Given this scenario, the parliamentary mission sought to foster strategic articulations and initiate a dialogue to make COP30 a stage for mobilizing the international democratic field. Prominent political leaders in the United States, such as Senator Bernie Sanders, were invited by Brazilian parliamentarians — Arlindo Chinaglia (PT-SP), Célia Xakriabá (PSOL-MG), Dandara (PT-MG) and Túlio Gadelha (Rede-PE) — to attend the UN Climate Conference in Belém.
In addition, the mission held discussions with North American interlocutors on concrete proposals that could potentially be launched at COP30, including:
Global Meeting of Black Caucuses in Parliaments, to strengthen the coordination of policies aimed at addressing the disproportionate impacts of climate change on black populations and other historically marginalized groups.
Projects to ensure the recycling of solid waste generated during COP30, differentiating the Belém edition from previous ones, which were marked by a considerable carbon footprint.
Global meetings of savannas, such as the Brazilian Cerrado, a biome that is crucial for water and climate balance, but which still receives little international attention and suffers from deforestation and accelerated degradation in different parts of the world.
The poor results of recent COPs have raised doubts about the capacity of the multilateral system to face the existential challenge posed by climate change. In an environment of growing distrust between the Global North and South, achieving concrete results at the speed and ambition that the climate crisis demands will require great diplomatic skill on the part of the Brazilian presidency of COP30.
In this context, parliamentary diplomacy can play an important role by allowing parliamentarians to act in a coordinated manner to encourage negotiators from their respective countries to make more ambitious commitments than those observed in previous years.
The mission to Washington DC represented a strategic step in this process, paving the way for the United States, a global power, to be represented at COP30 not only through its Executive Branch — which currently rejects the climate agenda — but also through its Parliament and other actors committed to sustainability.
The success of this effort will also depend on the leadership of other countries. Developed nations will need to demonstrate commitment to providing climate finance, while developing countries will face the challenge of coordinating themselves as a cohesive and constructive negotiating group. Making COP30 a landmark event for the relevance of multilateralism and its ability to adapt to a multipolar global order will be essential to ensuring the survival of the global climate regime.
In addition, it will concretely reinforce that international cooperation — including parliamentary diplomacy — is an indispensable tool for a fair, effective and sustainable response to the climate crisis.
*Maiara Folly is executive director and co-founder of the Plataforma CIPÓ.
This article was written for issue 154 of the WBO newsletter, dated February 14, 2025. To subscribe and receive free weekly news and analysis like this, simply enter your email in the field provided.
