Report: Laura Marques/ COP30 Brasil
Narration: Bárbara Menezes and Nycolas Verly

Reporter: The civic-military parade on September 7, celebrating Brasil’s Independence Day in Brasília, highlighted the upcoming COP30 in the country. The second part of the event was fully dedicated to the United Nations' largest gathering for discussions on climate change. For the first time, the event’s mascot, Curupira, made a public appearance before the public and authorities from all three branches of government, including President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The character, considered the “guardian of forests and animals,” is part of the visual identity of the conference.

In his official Independence Day address, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stressed the Brazilian government’s efforts in protecting the nation’s natural resources.

Lula: We care for our environment like no one else. We have halved deforestation in the Amazônia, which will host COP30, the world’s largest climate conference.

Reporter: At the opening of the second part of the parade, a banner with the words “Global Climate Task Force” announced Brasil’s call for worldwide unity. The slogan, launched by the COP30 Presidency, invites people to understand and debate climate change and its impacts in search of collective solutions.

Curupira paraded alongside staff and forest firefighters from the National Center for the Prevention and Combat of Forest Fires (Centro Nacional de Prevenção e Cpmbate aos Incêndios Florestais/Prevfogo), a division of the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renováveis/Ibama), and the ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation). Ms. Naiara Lemos, the General Coordinator of Institutional Communication for the Social Communication Secretariat (Secretaria de Comunicação Social da Presidência da República/SECOM/PR), explained their participation, stating that these "50 professionals represent how the Brazilian government has been working to preserve nature and also to protect it whenever a climate emergency occurs."

Naiara Lemos: These 50 professionals represent how the Brazilian government has been working to preserve nature and also to protect it whenever a climate emergency occurs.

The parade also featured Prevfogo’s mascot, Labareda, a giant anteater, and 196 young people carrying tree seedlings to be planted. These seedlings represented the countries that will participate in COP30, symbolizing life, hope, and the collective commitment to caring for the planet.

Translation: Bárbara Menezes.
Proofreading: Enrique Villamil