On behalf of the Interstate Amazon Consortium, the governor of Pará, Helder Barbalho, received on Tuesday (15) a letter delivered by youth from the region, which demands the creation of a youth council, with the objective of including this portion of the population in the decision making of the region. The document was developed by eleven youth climate activist organizations during the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 27, being held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
"We want our visions to also be in this place in the state, where politics starts with more power and can reach all of our society", explains Vitória Pinheiro, 26, from Amazonas, director of the NGO Palmares Lab Action. Hannah Balieiro, 27, director of the Mapinguari Institute, from Amapá, was also one of the people who drafted the letter: "This is the first COP in which we have a specific space for the Amazon Consortium and I think this is very crucial at this moment. My expectation is that we will be able to have this networking relationship between civil society and subnational governments, so we can walk together. That's what the COP is about, making partnerships", he evaluates.
The letter from the Amazon was also mentioned in a meeting today with president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and delivered to Marina Silva, elected federal deputy and former minister of the environment.
Read the full letter below:
This letter is intended for the Legal Amazon Interstate Consortium
We, youth organizations of the civil society of the Legal Amazon, believe that each parts of society have their role in combating the Climate Crisis. Therefore, we understand as a priority commitment the inclusion and participation of Civil Society and of the populations of the Legal Amazon to contribute to the process of planning, elaboration and implementation of the projects of the Interstate Consortium of the Legal Amazon, as a way to ensure that the climate transition process becomes fairer.
Thus, making the executed work more effective, with a more transparent communication and relationship between the governors and the population. If the Legal Amazon constitutes a territory and a favorable environment for youth protagonism, we understand that it is an important step that Your Excellencies, members of the Consortium of the Legal Amazon, assume the commitment and join us, who protagonize and articulate the defense of the territory.
The overcoming of challenges in the midst of climate emergency needs to be supported by integrated Public Policies, in the states that are part of the Legal Amazon. In observance of the Access to Information Law (L12.527), of November 18, 2011, in which the autarchy is subjected, we share the following recommendations to be signed by the
representatives of the Consortium:
1. Create a Youth Council of the Interstate Consortium of the Legal Amazon, aiming to ensure the participation of Civil Society Organizations, understanding that these generate innovative social and environmental solutions and must be co-responsible in the decision-making that affects the Amazon territory;
2. Promote a robust, transparent and inviting information system for qualified discussion and social control over the projects that will be implemented by the Consortium.
