Commentaries from the OIMC, the Obsevatory’s publication dedicated to short, free-form essays, continues its series of editions as a result of the Operation COP 2024 – Young Climate Ambassadors project with the text Climate Environmental Education in Brazil as an instrument of resilience, penned by Gabriel Henrique Lima do Nascimento (CFCH-UFAC). Drawing on the OIMC Guidelines for Environmental Climate Education, published in Cadernos do OIMC N. 12, this commentary deals with the importance of education as an essential tool for raising public awareness of the climate emergency, with a special focus on the past and present contexts of the Brazilian state of Acre.

Read an extract from this issue:

When we analyse the history of the state of Acre, we see at its core a strong struggle by the rubber tapper working class for forest rights and sustainable development, with great names at the forefront of this struggle, such as the world-renowned Chico Mendes, Wilson Pinheiro, Mary Allegretti and Marina Silva. But how did a state with a history marked by so many figures in Brazilian socio-environmentalism arrive at the current scenario of political alienation regarding the climate agenda? How can we combat statements against environmental conservation policies that suggest the government should cut even more funding for environmental protection policies?

A partnership between the Observatory, The Climate Reality Project Brazil and the Brazil Climate Centre, the Operation COP 2024 project selected young students from various regions of Brazil and different areas of knowledge to undergo training in international politics, climate change and skills development, with an emphasis on negotiating issues with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP).