The year 2025 marks both the start of the next "Golden 50 Years" of China-Brazil relations and a pivotal moment for global climate governance. The 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) will take place this November in Belém, Brazil. As a vital platform for South-South cooperation, BRI International Green Development Coalition (BRIGC) continues to foster dialogue and exchange between China and Brazil in the fields of green and low-carbon development to build consensus, enhance institutional coordination, and promote practical cooperation.

Promoting Low-Carbon Transition for a Shared Green Future

Recently, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, Secretary of Climate, Energy and Environment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil and President-Designate of COP30, visited BRIGC for in-depth discussions on global climate governance and South-South collaboration on climate change response.

Zhao Yingmin, President of BRIGC, outlined BRIGC’s contributions to environmental and climate governance in China and globally. He emphasized that the global transition toward green and low-carbon development is an irreversible trend. The transition presents vast opportunities for economic growth and social development. Zhao Yingmin noted that BRIGC is willing to play its role as a platform and committed to supporting Global South countries in achieving sustainable prosperity through green and low-carbon development.

Ambassador Corrêa do Lago praised China's notable achievements in green and low-carbon transition and expressed the willingness to deepen collaboration with BRIGC. He also voiced support for joint efforts to ensure a successful COP30 in Belém, injecting fresh momentum into multilateral climate governance.

At the same time, BRIGC representatives were invited to the Brazil-China Economic Summit in Shanghai and held in-depth discussions with officials of the municipal governments of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on "smart cities and sustainable development".

Aligning Platforms to Drive Innovation in Green Finance

In May 2025, BRIGC organized the fifth meeting of the Green Development Investment and Finance Partnership (GIFP) with focus on potential synergies between GIFP and the Brazil Climate and Ecological Transformation Platform (BIP). Participants had deep discussion on the mutual recognition of green finance standards between China and Brazil, the development of innovative financing instruments for green projects, and ways to strengthen coordination between financial institutions and bilateral cooperation initiatives. Institutions including the China Development Bank, the Export-Import Bank of China, and the China-Africa Development Fund attended the meeting as co-founders of GIFP.

Chinese financial institutions and enterprises shared their latest outcomes in green investment and financing cooperation with Brazil, including key projects in progress. Participants expressed a shared expectation that GIFP will assume a more proactive coordinating role in China-Brazil green cooperation and could advance project development by establishing regular communication mechanism, promoting mutual recognition of green finance standards, and innovating green financing.

From Consensus to Action: Shaping a Greener Future

In June 2025, to further enhance China-Brazil cooperation on green and sustainable development, BRIGC hosted a China-Brazil Sustainable Development Dialogue in Beijing with a delegation of Brazilian think tanks. BRIGC's Chief Development Officer, André Guimarães, COP30 Special Envoy for Civil Society and Executive Director of the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) attended and addressed the meeting.

The Brazilian think tank delegation shared their practical experience in tropical rainforest conservation, sustainable agricultural transition, and global climate governance. They expressed hopes of leveraging GIFP to strengthen the Global South's collaborative networks and deepen cooperation with China in green finance, carbon market capacity building, and green infrastructure planning. Attendees agreed that China and Brazil are highly complementary in their green and low-carbon development goals and possess significant cooperation potential. Going forward, both sides could explore establishing long-term cooperation mechanisms and seize the opportunity of COP30 to deepen collaboration by co-hosting side events and aligning efforts, thereby amplifying the voice and influence of developing countries in global climate governance.

Participating Brazilian think tanks included Plataforma Cipó, the Institute for Climate and Society (iCS), Amazon Institute of People and the Environment (Imazon), The World We Want Institute, and the Life Center Institute (ICV).

Moving forward, BRIGC will strengthen the China-Brazil green partnership, harness COP30 to drive green investment innovation and low-carbon pathway synergies, utilize GIFP and BIP for tangible cooperation, and unite with Brazil to champion climate leadership in the Global South, advancing South-South green collaboration.