President Lula names climate activist Marcele Oliveira as Youth Champion for COP30

Marcele Oliveira, a climate activist from Realengo in Rio de Janeiro, will represent the consideration of youth perspectives and voices in global climate deliberations and decisions.

On April 6 (Tuesday), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva named Marcele Oliveira, a 26-year-old communicator and climate activist, as the Youth Champion for the COP30 (United Nations Climate Change Conference) to be held in November in Belém, Pará's capital.

"I am honored to have this role, to be the Youth Champion for COP30, the COP that will take place in Brasil, in Latin America, in the Amazônia — in all of our biomes. With the participation of young people, children, and adolescents, we will build our contribution to COP30, so that it not only remains within the walls of the conference, but that it reflects in our way of seeing and thinking about the world. I appreciate this trust," said Marcele Oliveira.

Minister Márcio Macêdo, from Brasil’s General Secretariat of the Presidency (Secretaria Geral da Presidência da República do Brasil), celebrated the selection. "The Youth Champion, who will coordinate the participation of young people in COP30, was appointed by President Lula. She will work intensively to promote the mobilization of young people in their different conceptions, to ensure that everyone has the right to attend COP30, the COP of the Amazônia, where Brasil will speak to the world about the need to safeguard natural resources and tackle climate change," he said.

Marcele was included in the "Youth Climate Champion" call for proposals, launched by the National Youth Secretariat, an agency of Brasil’s General Secretariat of the Presidency (Secretaria Geral da Presidência da República do Brasil), and an unprecedented initiative of the federal government. 154 young people responded to the call. The names of 24 candidates were selected by the organizing committee and submitted to the Presidency of COP30.

The role of "Presidency Youth Climate Champion" was created to strengthen the participation of young people in climate policies and international negotiation processes on climate change. It aims to ensure that young people's perspectives and voices are part of global discussions — and decisions — on climate.

"The active participation of young people and children at COP30 is crucial, as they will be the protagonists of the coming decades. They will feel the impacts of climate change first hand, regardless of whether they are scientists, entrepreneurs, politicians, teachers, artists, mothers or fathers. Our effort in Belém is to leave behind a habitable planet for generations to come," said COP30 CEO Ana Toni.

Marcele Oliveira

Marcele Oliveira is a black woman born in Realengo, a city in Rio de Janeiro. A cultural producer with a degree from the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), she became involved in climate activism through the struggle of the current Parque Realengo Susana Naspolini. A member of the Climate Youth Negotiators program, she has attended climate conferences since the COP in Egypt (2022), through the Climate Change Coalition and Perifalab.

She is also a co-founder of the coalition “O Clima é de Mudança” and a Climate Youth Negotiator at the state of Rio de Janeiro's Environment and Climate Secretariat (Jovem Negociadora pelo Clima da Secretaria do Meio Ambiente e Clima do estado do Rio de Janeiro). Marcele Oliveira researches the interlocution between cultural practices and combating the consequences of climate change in the peripheries, with a focus on adaptation and climate education.

Youth Climate Champion

Since 2011, children and young people have had an official status as "constituencies" at the COPs, organized by the Official Children and Youth Constituency of the UNFCCC (YUNGO). The role of these groups has grown in addressing the climate crisis. At COP28, countries decided to create the position of Youth Climate Champion (YCC) to strengthen their actions, with four main objectives: a) to increase the inclusion and representation of youth in climate policies; b) to empower young people to contribute to climate decisions; c) to amplify their voices in the UNFCCC and COP presidencies; and d) to promote youth-led actions with resources and monitoring.

Learn more:https://youngoclimate.org/

English Version: Trad. Bárbara Menezes

Proofreading by Enrique Villamil