Last Friday, 15 August 2026, political scientist Mariana Castro, a researcher at the Interdisciplinary Observatory on Climate Change, took part in the São Paulo Local Conference of Youth (LCOY SP) organised by Youth Non-Governmental Organisations (YOUNGO), a body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Held in the István Jancsó Auditorium at the University of São Paulo (USP), the local conference featured an extensive programme of panel discussions with experts and climate leaders, practical workshops and networking opportunities aimed at young activists from various regions.

The political scientist represented the project Climate Justice and Racial Equality during her presentation at the panel discussion Climate justice for whom? Protecting the most vulnerable groups, which focused on how the impacts of climate change affect different groups and territories unequally. During the debate, Mariana outlined some of the work being carried out by the project, particularly the effort to produce analyses that place environmental racism and racial equality at the heart of the debate on climate change and public policy, with the aim of ensuring that racial inequalities are not treated as a secondary issue, but rather as a central issue in considering who is most affected by the climate emergency and what public policies are needed to tackle these inequalities.