The Brazil Climate Center (CBC) is a center for reflection and action (think-and-do tank), knowledge dissemination, elaboration of strategic actions, and engagement of society to combat the effects of climate change..
About
Who We Are
Strictly non-partisan, the CBC acts to influence Brazilian politics and power structures. It develops proposals, projects, strategies and actions, especially through articulation and political incidence at the subnational level and dialogue at the international level, in order to enable the transition to a carbon-neutral economy, through the full implementation of the Paris Agreement and, more specifically, of the Brazilian Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). In its track record, it has been helping to set sectoral and regional NDC targets, raising its ambitions, building a long-term strategy with the goal of zero net greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of the 21st century, and designing robust adaptation actions at different levels.
Assessment, analysis of relevant data and information, articulation among multiple stakeholders, and dialogue in different national and international spheres are among CBC’s strategic capabilities, contributing to a unique contribution that combines reflection and action, theory and practice.
Lines of action
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To be an international inspiration for generating knowledge, promoting dialogue, and engaging decision makers in tackling climate change.
Mission
Promote knowledge and engagement to decarbonize the economy, address the climate emergency, and promote climate justice.
Values
Excellence | Commitment Commitment | to Excellence Transparency | Social and Environmental Justice | | Sustainability | Diversity Non-Partisan
History
The Brazil Center on Climate (CBC) was founded in 2015 under the leadership of Alfredo Sirkis. Since then, it has been working intensively on the production of knowledge about climate change and on the incidence on public policies that can provide adaptation and mitigation, besides causing a positive impact for the populations most affected by the climate crisis. Check out a little more of our history and the main milestones of our performance, which includes events, launching of studies and books, and participation in international conferences that define the directions of the fight for climate change on the planet.
Alfredo Sirkis
Alfredo Sirkis (1951-2020) was one of Brazil’s leading environmentalists and thinkers, with a long and successful career that ranged from politics to the third sector, to literature and journalism. He was one of the pioneers and protagonists of the environmental struggle in Brazil, standing out as one of the staunchest defenders of the decarbonization of the economy, already foreseeing that this would be the great challenge for humanity in the 21st century.
He manifested his activism early on: he was a student leader as a teenager and participated in the armed resistance against the Brazilian military dictatorship, which led him into exile for more than eight years. In politics, he was one of the founders of Green PartyHe was a four-term councilman, municipal secretary of urbanism, and president of the Instituto Municipal de Urbanismo Pereira Passos (IPP) from 2001 to 2006, in addition to being the creator of the Municipal Secretary of Environment in the city of Rio de Janeiro, also being its first holder, from 1993 to 1996. He was elected federal deputy in the 2011-2015 term, during which time he chaired the Mixed Committee on Climate Change of the National Congress and was one of the vice-presidents of the Committee on Foreign Relations and National Defense of the House of Representatives.
His protagonism in the discussions about climate led him to be a member of the Brazilian delegation in the climate conferences of Montreal, Bali, Copenhagen, Durban, Warsaw, Lima, Paris, Marrakech, and Bonn. From 2016 to 2019 he was the Executive Coordinator of the Brazilian Climate Change Forum, during which time he organized the campaign
Ratify Now!
which achieved the ratification of the Paris Agreement in record time by the Brazilian government.
An intellectual recognized for his transitions through diverse themes, he is the author of nine books. The work “Os Carbonários” (1980) received the Jabuti Award in 1981. His most recent work, “Decarbonaries” was released in 2020, with autobiographical features and as an unfolding of the work of 40 years before. He was a contributor to the newspapers O Globo, Folha de S. Paulo, O Estado de S. Paulo, Valor Econômico, and Correio Brasiliense, besides having worked in the press in France, Portugal, and Chile.
He founded the Centro Brasil no Clima in 2015, staying at the head of the
think tank
until his death in July 2020.
Directors
He holds a BA in Executive Education from Harvard Kennedy School and an MA in Energy and Environmental Policy from the University of Chicago, with a fellowship from the Obama Foundation. Between 2016 and 2019, he served as Special Advisor to the Minister of Mines and Energy and also served on the Board of Directors of the Manaus Free Trade Zone to evaluate and recommend investments in the Amazon. In 2013, he co-founded the Brazilian Photovoltaic Solar Energy Association and became vice president. He promoted the Governmental and Institutional Relations area, analyzing and negotiating agreements to consolidate the Brazilian solar energy industry. In 2020, Guilherme Syrkis took over as executive director of the Brazil Climate Center (CBC) and has been renewing the institution's way of acting, while carrying on the legacy of his father, Alfredo Sirkis, a great Brazilian environmentalist and founder of the CBC.
Finance Director of the Brazil Center on Climate since its creation in 2015, performs executive and control activities of accounts payable and receivable, cash flow, budgeting, and management of the outsourced accounting operation. She worked at the OndAzul Foundation, overseeing administrative activities and acting as secretary to the President from 1997 to 2000. He has held several advisory positions in the Rio de Janeiro City Hall and in the municipal public power: Rio de Janeiro's Environment Secretariat, from 1994 to 1996; Urbanism Secretariat, from 2001 to 2008; and in the City Council in three different periods, between 1996 and 2010. She was also an advisor at the House of Representatives from 2010 to 2014.
Marine Biologist from UFRJ, Ph.D in Ecology from UERJ and Tel Aviv University with 2 post-doctoral degrees in Marine Ecology. For more than 20 years he has been active in scientific research projects, development of socio-environmental projects and partnerships, human resources training, scientific communication, and consulting for national and international government agencies. She is a member of the scientific committee This is My Earth - TiME, of the Advisory Council of the Natural Monument of the Cagarras Islands Archipelago, and a member of the Women's League for the Ocean. He has been working in the third sector since 2006. She has been founder and executive director of the Brazilian Biodiversity Institute - BrBio since 2013 and is currently also the director of management and people of the Brazil Climate Center - CBC. Clara's mother since 2009.
Special Advisors
He has been active in the environmental movement for more than 40 years, whether in the Executive, Parliament, or the third sector. Business administrator and lawyer, he was a federal deputy for three consecutive mandates (1986-1998) and participated as a constituent deputy in the 1988 Constitution, responsible for drafting the chapter of the Federal Constitution dedicated to the environment, to this day considered one of the most complete and advanced regulations in the world regarding the environment. He was also São Paulo State Environment Secretary (1995-1998), one of the founders of the Brazilian Climate Change Forum (2020), and an official member of the Brazilian delegation in numerous COPs. Active in civil society, he was on the boards of Greenpeace International, Global Reporting International, and several national entities, and founded and was the first president of the SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation, among other activities. He has been acting as a consultant on environmental and sustainable development issues in the last years, as well as a lecturer in national and international events.
He holds a B.A. in Humanities and an M.A. in Sociology of Development from Paris X, and a Diploma of Advanced Studies in History and Civilizations - Third World Countries from the Doctorate of Paris VII in France. She specialized in Environmental Education at UERJ, studied Project Management at FGV-RJ and Social Indicators at IBGE-ENCE-RJ, and attended the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory Training at COPPE-UFRJ. He is also certified in the Climate Leadership Corps, of The Climate Reality Project. She is an Associate Advisor to the Brazil Center on Climate and the Brazilian Institute for Biodiversity (BrBio). In the last 30 years, in executive and legislative positions, she was Director in Instituto Pereira Passos (IPP), Superintendent for two managements in the Secretariat of Environment of Rio de Janeiro (SEA-RJ), Advisor and Project Manager in CMRJ, contributing to the implementation of various strategic initiatives and programs. He was a member of the Strategic Council of the City of Rio de Janeiro from 2001 to 2006. She is a consultant in the socio-environmental and project management areas, having already worked with FBDS, PNUD, Instituto OndAzul, E.labore, Petrobras, and C40, in addition to being a speaker on various socio-environmental issues, Agenda 21, and Climate Change.
An economist and ecologist, he has been a professor in the Department of Economics at PUC-RJ since 1982 and has studied the economic and social consequences of global climate change since 1992, having participated in the Executive Program On Climate Change & Development, at the Harvard Institute for International Development, Harvard University. He is a member of the Board of Directors or Advisory Board of several non-governmental and governmental organizations, such as WWF, Conservation International, Roberto Marinho Foundation, Rio de Janeiro City Council, IBGE's Demographic Census Advisory Board, among others. He was a career executive at BNDES (1987-1999), president of IBGE (1999-2003), of Instituto Pereira Passos (2005-2016) and of Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro (2016-2020). He is currently the Strategic Coordinator of the Climate Reality Project Brazil, Climate and Sustainability Curator at Museu do Amanhã, and Secretary General of the Climate Governance Forum of the city of Rio de Janeiro.
A graduate in Education and a specialist in Sustainability and Human Development, she has always worked combining Education and Environment. In his background, he has conducted and supervised Environmental Education projects in almost 600 schools in areas surrounding transmission lines, pipelines, and oil platforms for more than 50 companies. As an associate consultant of the Brazil Climate Center, she has also coordinated the projects and initiatives Mitigation Advocacy and Exploring Positive Pricing of Carbon Reduction, both in partnership with the British Embassy, in 2015. Since 2016, he has been responsible for the Regional Coordination of The Climate Reality Project in Brazil. It was in this context that he formulated the Jornadas pelo Clima methodology, recognized as a social technology in 2021 by the Banco do Brasil Foundation and finalist of the prize awarded by the institution. Carioca, she likes pedagogical transgression, designing participatory processes, and lately has been deepening her studies in Climate Justice and working with active methodologies to enable Climate Education to reach more people.
Board
President of the Talanoa Institute. Natalie has a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor's degree in business administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas (EAESP-FGV). She has worked in state and federal governments, where she supported the construction of public policies, including the most ambitious climate change adaptation program ever undertaken in the country, Brazil 2040, as director at SAE/Presidency of the Republic. She has contributed as Brazil's negotiator on climate change issues at the UN and was Deputy Secretary of the Brazilian Forum on Climate Change (FBMC). She is a member of the Green Climate Fund Accreditation Panel and a co-founder and member of several projects and organizations, such as the Whole Politics initiative. He is a columnist for Época Magazine and Capital Reset, besides being a frequent columnist and commentator in the national and international press.
holds a PhD in political science from the University of São Paulo and a post-doctoral degree in international political economy from the University of Colorado. He is the author of 6 books, more than 50 book chapters, and more than 80 articles published in specialized scientific journals in several countries. It has 211 citations in the Web of Science and more than 5,400 citations in Google Scholar. He is also a member of several national and international scientific committees. Political scientist, full professor of International Relations at the University of Brasília and Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies at USP.
She is a geographer from PUC-RJ, holds a Master's degree in Energy Planning from COPPE, and a DEA in Methódes Scientifiques de Gestion from the University of Paris-Dauphine. He worked at the General Coordination for Global Climate Change at the Ministry of Science and Technology from 1997 to 2009. He participated in the international negotiations under the Climate Convention and the Kyoto Protocol from 2000 until 2010. She is currently a consultant and associate of the International Institute for Sustainability - IIS.
He is senior fellow of CEBRI and WRI and distinguished fellow of the Global Forum of Competitiveness Council. He was executive director for Brazil at the World Bank and IDB, non-resident fellow at Brookings, and professor at the Institute of Industrial Economics at UFRJ. He holds a BA in Economics and an MSc in Economics of Industry and Technology, both from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and a PhD in Economics from the University of London. A macroeconomist by training, he specializes in international and development finance, economic development, financial systems, and economic growth. He has become an environmentalist and is dedicated to making socio-economic systems more sustainable and just.
Journalist, chef, and author, he was the founder and director of the NGO Friends of the Earth for more than 25 years. He was a pioneer in the environmental movement and dedicated a good part of his life to the Amazon. He developed the concept of valuing biodiversity through gastronomy and promoted the implementation of socio-environmental food certification in Brazil. It encourages the full utilization of food, especially animal food. He is the author of books and articles on food innovation and sustainability challenges. He writes a gastronomic column in O Estado de São Paulo, is vice-president of the Atá Institute, and runs the artisan food company ArteSã. In 2015, he co-founded the Climate Reality Project Brazil, together with Al Gore. He is a member of the CBC Board of Directors.
Forest Engineer, PhD in Biology from Harvard University, Post-Doctorate in Sustainable Development from the University of Florida, Professor of Forest Sciences at Luiz de Queiroz University of Agriculture. ESALQ/USP. Professor at the Forest Sciences Department at ESALQ/USP from 1989 to 2003, State Secretary of Environment and Sustainable Development of Amazonas (SDS) from 2003 to 2008. Former president of the São Paulo Association of Forest Engineers and of the Brazilian Society of Ethnobiology and Ethnoecology. He has supervised more than 20 doctoral and master's theses. He is currently the General Superintendent of the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS), a collaborating professor in the post-graduate course at the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA), coordinator of the Solutions Network for Sustainable Development (SDSN, a UN initiative), member of the Commission on Ethics and Action for Sustainable Development and of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences at the Vatican, and president of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for the Bioeconomy of the Amazon (ABIO).
Specialized in Executive Postgraduate Studies in Environment at COPPE-UFRJ and Master in Public Sector Economics at the University of Brasilia, he was a visiting professor at Columbia University in New York (USA). He has experience in Urban and Regional Planning, having been a special advisor to the board of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and consultant to the Sustainability Program of Bloomberg Philanthropies. Currently, among his activities, he is an advisor to the President of the Brazilian Federal Senate since March 2021 and member of the Board of Directors of the Centro Brasil no Clima.
Fiscal Council
Attorney General of the Public Prosecutor's Office at the State of Paraíba Audit Court, University Professor and Economist, former National Treasury Attorney. He graduated in Law and Economics, with an exchange program of one year at Hochschule Bremen (Germany), and took his master's degree in Economic Law, both at UFB. He has a specialization in Public Administration (2014) from FGV and a Bachelor's degree in Physics from UFPB. He is a member of the American Law and Economics Association (ALEA) and the Brazilian Association of Law and Economics. He has experience in Law - with emphasis in Financial, Administrative, Tax and Economic Law - and in Economics with focus in Microeconomics, Public Sector Economics and Planning. He acts as a fiscal advisor to the CBC.
Federal Auditor for External Control of the Brazilian Court of Audit (TCU), she holds a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Brasília and a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, with emphasis on power electrical systems, from the University of Brasília. She is currently a Federal External Control Auditor for the Federal Audit Court (TCU), in the Electrical Energy Infrastructure Supervision Office. Previously, she was Infrastructure Analyst and General Coordinator of Strategic Planning, Supervision and Evaluation of Management at the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) and Trainee Engineer at the National Electric System Operator (ONS). He has experience in the energy field with emphasis in electric energy, acting mainly in the following themes: external control, electric energy regulation, public policies in the energy field, and strategic planning. She is a member of the Audit Committee of the CBC.
Consultants
Bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), with a degree in Sanitation from CREA-RJ and a Technician in Environment. He has experience in the areas of Climate Change, Project Management, Environmental Management, and Sanitation. She worked as an intern at the Climate Change Superintendence of the Rio de Janeiro State Environment Secretariat, where she participated in the preparation of the Third Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory of the State and the State's Climate Change Adaptation Plan. Currently, she is a Project Analyst and Junior Climate Policy Consultant at the Centro Brasil no Clima (CBC).
Researcher with expertise in the areas of sustainability and sustainable development, post-development and climate change. Bachelor in Biological Sciences (Genetics) and Master in Ecology UFRJ, researching the themes of Sustainable Development and Post-Development. He has worked in long-term monitoring projects such as PELD-Guanabara and PELD-Abrolhos. She has participated since 2018 in the Brazilian Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BPBES), having collaborated as a technical consultant in the writing of the Special Report on Climate Change and Biodiversity. He developed work with sustainability indicators and determination of priority areas for regional development with the Brazilian Foundation for Sustainable Development (FBDS). She is currently pursuing her PhD in the Post-Graduate Program in Environmental Sciences and Conservation at UFRJ (PPGCiAC-UFRJ), analyzing synergies and conflicts between the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and their insertion in Brazilian municipalities. She works as a consultant for the Brazil Climate Center in the areas of project management and advocacy.
A graduate in Journalism from Estácio de Sá University, she has been working in the climate area since 2019. Her professional experiences in communication include online content production, graphic design, internal communication, social media, and event organization. Currently, she works as a communication assistant for the Brazil Center on Climate.
She holds a degree in Environmental Management from the Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul, and a master's degree in Rural Development from UFRGS, with an extension in Environmental Law from the Superior School of Law of Rio Grande do Sul. He worked as Green Finance manager in the Sustainable Rural Project - Cerrado Biome for the Brazilian Institute for Development and Sustainability and coordinated the Young Professionals in Sanitation program (ABES-RS). He was also a lecturer in the Environmental Management course (UFRGS). Her professional trajectory involves the following themes: environmental management, training, environmental planning, monitoring, environmental economics, and rural development. She is currently a consultant at the Centro Brasil no Clima, where she is active in different projects, and is currently responsible for the São Francisco River Perenization axis in the HidroSinergia project.
A communicator, cultural producer, and social articulator, she is a journalist with a post-graduate degree in Environmental Management (MBE Coppe/UFRJ) and has worked for over 15 years in the third sector. In the area of communication, he has worked for institutions such as the Committee for the Democratization of Information Technology (CDI), the Information Network for the Third Sector (Rits), the Committee of Public Entities in the Fight against Hunger and for Life (Coep), and Avaaz, among others. For six years he coordinated the Tudo de Cor project in Rio, in the Santa Marta slum, and because of this experience he was a speaker at TEDx Floripa with the theme "The power of colors". He currently works in the third sector, collaborating in communication and innovation and project formulation at the Brazil Climate Center (CBC) and at the Brazilian Biodiversity Institute (BrBio), and in the production and articulation of urban intervention initiatives, such as the NegroMuro project and Partiu! - Plano de Arte e Intervenção Urbana, a project he conceived and coordinates since 2018.
A lawyer with a Masters in International Development in Climate Justice from the University of Birmingham in the UK, she also has a background in Sustainability from Schumacher College. Founder of the organizations Youth Climate Leaders and LACLIMA, she is also a member of the Global Shapers Community, linked to the World Economic Forum, and a Leader of the Political Action Network for Sustainability (RAPS). She is an expert and consultant on Climate Justice and Climate Policy, and wrote the preface to the Brazilian version of Mary Robinson's book. Since 2021, she is International Relations Manager at Centro Brasil no Clima and Climate Justice Consultant at Climate Reality Project Brasil.
Economist with a focus on environmental economics, he participated as a researcher in the Environmental Economics Group (GEMA/IE/UFRJ). He has a master's degree in Energy Planning from Coppe/UFRJ and is currently working on his doctorate in the same area. Over the past 10 years he has participated in research on different topics, including payments for environmental services (PES), environmental impact assessment, and water resources management. He has been specializing in climate change, more specifically in the evaluation of mitigation measures for GHG emissions. He had experience as a substitute professor in the Economics course at UFF in 2020. In the same year, he became a consultant for the CBC, where he currently holds the position of Studies Manager. It has been focusing on topics such as MRV indicators to track actions to achieve the Brazilian NDC, climate finance in Brazil, and promoting renewable energy for socioeconomic development in the Brazilian Semiarid.
A social worker graduated from UFRJ, she studied at the United World College, through which she was selected to attend a multidisciplinary semester at the University of Virginia in the exchange program Semester at Sea. She has been working at The Climate Reality Project Brazil since 2018 where she is as Engagement and Climate Justice Coordinator. He also works in social projects related to the guarantee of rights and culture, and has participated in research on the themes of citizenship, gender issues, and favelas. She has experience in creating communities, organizing events, and planning and developing engagement strategies.
Climate Education Coordinator at The Climate Reality Project Brazil. She has a degree in Public Relations from PUC-RS, and a specialist degree in business management from ESPM. She works in the engagement of people and organizations in relation to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, through education and consulting in social and environmental responsibility in her company, @somosfranca. She produces and curates sustainable events such as Virada Sustentável Porto Alegre. His training includes courses such as Art of Hosting, Kaospilots, and Unleash Lab. He is part of international networks such as the Global Shapers (World Economic Forum) and The Climate Reality Project.
Public Relations undergraduate and Communication Analyst at Climate Reality Brasil. Her research fields are digital accessibility and gender violence. He works in the area of accessibility for people with disabilities in social networks and digital events. He is currently a Social Media Analyst for the Climate Reality Project Brazil.
Journalist, with an MBA in Marketing and specialization in Brand Management. A lecturer and professor in the Social Communication course, he has worked for the O Globo and O Dia newspapers. In the last few years, he has managed accounts for 270 clients, from 15 different areas. She has extensive experience in image and brand management, crisis prevention and management, and spokesperson training. He is an advisor to the Brazilian Biodiversity Institute, BrBio, a consultant at the Brazil Climate Center, and a volunteer for the Trees for Climate movement.
Bachelor's degree in Social Work from UFRJ and Master's student in the Graduate Program in Culture and Social Work at the same university. He is currently an Engagement Analyst at the Climate Reality Project Brazil. She is interested and focused on issues related to gender, race and class, climate change and climate justice.
She has a degree in Biological Sciences (PUC-PR), a specialization in Environmental Analysis, and a master's degree in Environment and Development, both from UFPR. His academic experience is focused on the analysis of socio-environmental public policies, especially climate change, protected areas, and land use planning. He has developed technical work in the areas of geoprocessing, Conservation Unit planning, licensing, and environmental education. She is currently working as a climate project consultant at the Centro Brasil no Clima, especially in projects of analysis on continuity of climate governance in Latin American and Global cities and development of indexes for sustainable public transport transition.
Graduated in Journalism from Faculdades Integradas Hélio Alonso (FACHA), she has been working in the environmental and climate area since 2018. Her professional experiences in communication include audiovisual production, desktop publishing, graphic material design, press office, internal communication, social media, and event organization. In 2019, he began working with Climate Reality Project Brazil as an editorial freelancer. Since 2020, she officially joined the team, initially as Communications Analyst and, since April 2021, as Communications Coordinator. His studies focus on digital convergence, data and environmental journalism.
An internationalist from UNESP-SP, his trajectory has been built on project management and international negotiation and articulation. He managed internationalization projects for French and Brazilian technology-based companies and participated in technical cooperation initiatives between Brazil and international stakeholders. He currently coordinates CBC's Advocacy team, responsible for influencing public and private decision-makers on the climate emergency and creating paradiplomatic channels between Brazilian states and international actors.
Members
- Alfredo Helio Syrkis
- Ana Amélia Campos Toni
- André Lemos de Abreu
- André Luiz Esteves
- Andrea Margit
- Andrea Souza Santos
- Aspasia Brasileiro Alcântara de Camargo
- White American
- Carlos Eduardo Rittl
- Eduardo Alexandre da Silva Almeida
- Eduardo José Viola
- Emilio Lèbre La Rovere
- Fabio José Feldmann
- Guilherme Syrkis
- Israel Klabin
- José Sarney Filho
- Luiz Augusto Nóbrega Barroso
- Márcia Bandeira da Silva
- Maurício de Moura Costa
- Natalie Unterstell
- Olga Martins Wehb
- Oswaldo dos Santos Lucon
- Pedro Moura Costa
- Rafael Kelman
- Renata Moraes
- Roberto Schaeffer
- Roberto Smeraldi
- Robert Zsolt Let Kazinczy Smeraldi
- Rodrigo Amorim Gonçalves Rosa
- Sérgio Besserman Vianna
- Sergio Luis de Carvalho Xavier
- Simone Siag Oigman-Pszczol
- Suzana Kahn Ribeiro Rezende de Azevedo
- Tasso Resende de Azevedo
- Tatiana Martins Wehb
- Virgílio Maurício Viana
- William Wills
Networks and Forums
The participation in forums, networks, and councils has been ensuring CBC the possibility of reverberating strategic issues to different actors and stakeholders, while allowing it to join forces with other organizations that also act to halt climate change.
