There is a particular kind of silence that descends on a forest at dawn when something historic is about to be completed. I felt it on the morning of April 23, 2026, standing among the mist-draped slopes of Kessup Forest in Elgeyo Marakwet County, watching Hillary Kiplagat Kibiwott plant his final seedlings with the same focused rhythm he had maintained for the past twenty-three hours. By the time the clock struck 11:00 a.m. and the challenge was officially closed, he had planted 23,326 indigenous trees  surpassing a Guinness World Record that had stood since 2021, and writing Kenya into the history of global climate action in the most visceral way imaginable.

I was present as EARTHDAY.ORG’s representative on the ground. And I can say without hesitation: what I witnessed at Kessup was not simply a record attempt. It was, in the truest sense, a living manifestation of Earth Day 2026’s global theme  “Our Power, Our Planet“.

The Setting: Where the Story Began

Kessup Forest is not a symbolic backdrop. It sits within the broader Kaptagat ecosystem in Kenya’s North Rift, a critical water catchment area that sustains agricultural communities and supports biodiversity across the region. Choosing this forest was itself an act of intention. Hillary Kibiwott, a 29-year-old co-founder of the Green Earth Ambassadors Foundation from Elgeyo Marakwet County, submitted his Guinness World Records application on January 1, 2026 the very first day of the year. That act of deliberate timing tells you something essential about how seriously he took this commitment.

The challenge was straightforward in its parameters and extraordinary in its demands: plant more than 23,060 trees  the record set by Canadian Antoine Moses in Alberta in July 2021  within a single 24-hour window, across 30.15 hectares of cleared plantation land. To do so, Hillary would need to average a tree in the ground every 3.6 seconds. Every hour. Through the night. Through fatigue, changing weather, and the compounding weight of physical exhaustion.

He began at exactly 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, April 22, 2026  Earth Day  dressed in a tracksuit, shovel in hand, thousands of seedlings prepared in advance across the 50-acre site. Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Wesley Rotich flagged off the challenge before a crowd of residents, conservation officials, government representatives, and supporters who had come from across the county. The atmosphere was electric  and deeply communal.

The Night That Belonged to Everyone

What struck me most as the hours passed was how quickly this became a community event rather than a solo performance. Residents flocked to the forest station. Officials remained on site throughout the night. Representatives from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Forest Conservation Committees, and the Kaptagat Integrated Conservation Programme (KICP) maintained continuous monitoring, documenting and verifying every tree at regular intervals to ensure the attempt would meet Guinness World Records’ stringent verification standards.

By the midway mark, progress reports showed Hillary had crossed 9,000 trees. The numbers were tracked. The momentum was real. And the people who had gathered to witness it were not passive observers  they were participants in something larger than themselves. That is exactly what Our Power, Our Planet is designed to produce.

That sentence  understated, quietly powerful  captures something that no statistics can fully convey. Climate action at its most effective is never solitary. It is held up by communities.

The Moment the Record Fell

At 11:00 a.m. on April 23, the challenge closed. The final count stood at 23,326 trees  266 more than Antoine Moses’ previous global benchmark. The achievement is pending formal ratification by Guinness World Records, which requires documented evidence including witnesses, measurements, photographs, video, and compliance with standardised rules. But even before that certification arrives, the significance of what happened was unmistakable.

The response from leadership was swift and unambiguous. Principal Secretary for Forestry Gitonga Mugambi, who witnessed the final stretch of the challenge, did not frame the record as a sporting feat. He understood it as a policy statement.

That urgency is well-founded. Kenya’s forests are losing ground. The country currently falls short of the internationally recommended 10% minimum forest cover. President William Ruto’s administration has pledged to plant 15 billion trees by 2032, requiring roughly 1.7 billion trees annually. Official figures from April 2025 showed 783 million trees planted under the National Tree Growing and Restoration Campaign  a meaningful start, but a stark reminder of the distance remaining.

Hillary’s challenge lands squarely within that national story. And its timing on Earth Day was no coincidence.

Our Power, Our Planet: A Theme Made Visible

EARTHDAY.ORG’s 2026 manifesto describes the theme ‘Our Power, Our Planet’ as a fundamental truth that transcends political cycles. Environmental stewardship, the manifesto insists, has never depended on a single administration, institution, or election. It is sustained by the daily decisions of communities, educators, workers, innovators, and families.

Standing at Kessup Forest on that April morning, I did not need to explain that principle. I could point to it. Here was a 29-year-old from Elgeyo Marakwet  not a government programme, not a donor-funded initiative  making the most tangible possible argument for citizen-led climate action. Here was a crowd of ordinary Kenyans keeping vigil through the night, cheering a young man forward in the dark, not because they were asked to but because they understood what was at stake. Here were forestry officers, county officials, conservation bodies, all converging not around a boardroom table but around a cleared hectare of earth and a man with a shovel.

This is what EARTHDAY.ORG means when it says environmental progress is already operational, not aspirational. It is not waiting for a policy shift in Nairobi or a resolution from a distant summit. It is happening  on these slopes, with these hands, in this soil.

What a Guinness Record Says About Collective Action

Some have asked whether a world record attempt is the right frame for climate action  whether the spectacle of it risks reducing a serious cause to a stunt. I want to address that directly, because I think the opposite is true.

A Guinness World Record is one of the few globally understood symbols of extreme human effort. When one is attempted  especially by a young African environmentalist, in an indigenous forest, on Earth Day  it sends a signal that cannot be replicated by a press release or a pledge document. It says: this community is showing up. This cause is worth the full commitment of a human body for 24 uninterrupted hours. This planet is worth making history for.

Dr Chris Kiptoo, Patron of the Kaptagat Integrated Conservation Programme, understood this when he said of Hillary’s name: Kibiwott, in the Kalenjin language, means one born in the rainy season. In many Kenyan communities, that season symbolises decisive action  the planting season. It was perhaps no coincidence, then, that as Hillary completed his final trees, rain poured heavily over Kessup Forest. Nature, it seemed, was paying its own tribute.

Senator William Kisang of Elgeyo Marakwet took the matter to the Senate floor on May 5, 2026, calling for formal national recognition of Hillary’s achievement. Cabinet Secretary for Environment Deborah Barasa described the feat as the kind of personal commitment needed to inspire a wider national movement. Shortly after, the government appointed Hillary as Ambassador for Kenya’s 15 Billion Trees Campaign  elevating a grassroots conservation act into official national mission.

Kenya’s Moment, and EARTHDAY.ORG’s Mission

EARTHDAY.ORG coordinates Earth Day across nearly 200 countries, and one of the most important truths our work has taught us is this: global movements are built from local acts of courage. The Canopy Tree Project, which has planted tens of millions of trees since 2010 across Bangladesh, India, Madagascar, Mexico, South Africa, and Uganda, works precisely because it is rooted in communities  the same communities that face the sharpest edge of climate change and deforestation.

What happened at Kessup on Earth Day 2026 is part of that same continuum. Kenya is not waiting to be included in the global climate conversation. It is leading it  through youth, through forests, through the extraordinary and ordinary act of planting trees.

PS Mugambi, in his remarks following the challenge, made a call that I believe captures the spirit of this moment perfectly: he did not simply praise Hillary. He turned the achievement outward, rallying institutions, communities, and individuals across Kenya to take up the mantle. Because the real story of Kessup is not about one man planting 23,326 trees. It is about what those trees make possible  the conversations they start, the ambitions they legitimise, the young people across 47 counties who will see a 29-year-old from their region in the Guinness World Records and think: I can do something too.

My View Reflection from the Ground

I have represented EARTHDAY.ORG at many events. I have spoken in rooms about climate urgency, about the importance of action, about what is at stake if we fail to protect our forests, our water, our air. These conversations matter. But there are rare moments when the argument is made not in words but in the body  in effort, in endurance, in the simple act of bending down, again and again, for 24 hours, to put a living thing into the earth. Hillary Kibiwott gave us one of those moments. And Kessup Forest, those 23,326 trees now growing in its soil, will carry the proof of it for generations.

This is what Our Power, Our Planet looks like when it leaves the EARTHDAY.ORG manifesto and walks into the world.

The post How One Young Kenyan’s 23,326 Trees Showed the World What Climate Action Looks Like appeared first on Earth Day.

On Earth Day 2026, in Elgeyo Marakwet County, Kenya, environmentalist Hillary Kibiwott Kibiwott set out to accomplish something extraordinary: playing 24,000 trees in 24 hours and breaking the Guinness World Record for the most trees planted by an individual in a single day.

By the end of the challenge, Kibiwott had planted 23,326 trees, officially surpassing the previous record of 23,060 set in 2021 by Canadian tree planter Antoine MOses in La Crete, Alberta.

The achievement made Kibiwott the new Guinness World Record holder and marked a major Earth Day moment for Kenya and the global environmental movement.

But for Kibiwott, the event was always about more than a number.

“I want to make a record that I will be the first African to do this here in Kenya,” he said before the planting began. “What I want to be remembered for is that on this day, on 22nd of April, World Earth Day, I want to be remembered [because] I went down and planted over 24,000 trees in 24 hours.”

Kibiwott, co-founder of the Green Earth Ambassadors Foundation, had officially received approval from Guinness World Records earlier in the year after submitting his application on January 1, 2026. The tree-planting marathon began on April 22 at 11 a.m. and extended exactly 24 hours later.

Preparations for the event reflected the scale and seriousness of the challenge. Kenya Forest Service professionals worked in advance to ensure the land met the standard required for the record attempt. Planting areas were carefully measured and marked with pegs to maintain the proper spacing between seedlings.

“What you see here is a peg,” Kibiwott explained during the event. “This is being done by professionals from Kenya Forest Service, basically to make sure that the standard required for the size or distance from each tree to another one is there.”

The setup allowed the planting process to move quickly and efficiently once the challenge officially began.

Supporters gathered around Kibiwott throughout the event, recognizing the significance of the attempt not only for Kenya, but for environmental action more broadly.

“We are excited to be here today,” one supporter said, “being a historic day where we are supporting the contender for the Guiness World Record.”

Another supporter emphasized the lasting impact of the effort, telling Kibiwott, “Whatever you are going to do today is going to be for posterity. The whole world will remember.”

The challenge quickly became more than an individual record attempt. Families, villagers, volunteers, environmental groups, and even members of the military joined the effort and helped turn the day into a large-scale community movement.

According to EARTHDAY.ORG staff member Derrick Mugisha, who attended and documented the event, the atmosphere reflected the spirit of collective action that defines Earth Day around the world.

“We were there and filmed the entire thing,” Mugisha wrote afterward. “And paid for some of the trees.”

The event also aligned closely with this year’s broader Earth Day message about the power of collective action and environmental responsibility.

“Earth Day is not just a day,” one participant said during the event. “It’s a movement.”

That idea was echoed in a message shared by EARTHDAY.ORG campaigner Brianna, who reflected on the significance of the achievement in the context of global Earth Day organizing.

“Hope is not just something we feel,” she wrote. “It is something we build.”

“In Kenya, one person set out to plant 24,000 trees in 24 hours. Families, villagers, and even members of the military joined to support this remarkable effort. By day’s end, 23,326 trees had been planted, and a new world record was set.”

For Kibiwott, the challenge was also intended to inspire young people and demonstrate that environmental leadership can begin at the community level.

“Here in Kenya, I want to show people that it is possible in a small way, coming from a youth like me,” he said.

Throughout the event, he repeatedly emphasized the importance of personal responsibility in caring for the environment. 

“It started by you,” Kibiwott said. “It is a personal responsibility.”

Environmental experts have described the achievement as particularly significant given Kenya’s ongoing efforts to increase forest cover and address the impacts of deforestation and climate change. Tree planting initiatives have become an important part of both local and national environmental strategies across the country.

Kibiwott’s success also highlights the growing role of grassroots environmental activism in global climate efforts. While large-scale policy changes and international agreements remain critical, Earth Day events around the world continue to demonstrate how local action can mobilize communities and inspire wider participation.

This year, millions of people participated in more than 12,000 Earth Day events worldwide, organizing cleanup, educational programs, conversation projects, and environmental campaigns in communities across the globe. 

“These moments may look different,” Briana wrote, “but they carry the same truth. Action matters. When people set forward, change becomes possible.”

Kibiwott’s record-setting effort captured that idea in a visible and measurable way. Every tree planted represented not only an environmental contribution, but also a symbol of participation, commitment, and collective effort.

Although the original target of 24,000 trees was not fully reached, the final total of 23,326 was enough to break the previous Guinness World Record and establish a new benchmark for individual tree planting. 

As the final hours of the challenge came to a close, the achievement stood as both a personal milestone for Kibiwott and a broader reminder of what Earth Day represents: action made visible through collective effort.

Not only awareness, but participation.

Not only concern, but commitment.

And 23,326 trees later, a powerful example of what is possible when people choose to act together.

But Earth day does not end when the planting stops.

It continues in the choices communities make, the policies leaders support, and the actions individuals take every day to protect the planet we all share.

The post One Person, 23,326 Trees, and a World Record Rooted In Hope appeared first on Earth Day.

As the world builds toward COP31 in Türkiye, the stakes for meaningful climate action have never been higher. We sat down with Samed Ağırbaş, the UN Climate High-Level Champion for COP31, to talk about what it will take to turn pledges into progress, why climate education matters, and how a just transition can deliver opportunity for all.

Strategic Vision and Key Objectives for COP31

Rodolfo “Ropo” Beltrán, Regional Director for Brazil & Latin America, EARTHDAY.ORG

As the Climate High-Level Champion for COP31, your role is to help mobilize cities, businesses, financial institutions, civil society and other partners to accelerate climate delivery and ensure that commitments translate into measurable action. What are your main priorities as we approach COP31?

Samed Ağırbaş,  UN Climate High-Level Champion for COP31

One of my key objectives for COP31 is to build on the momentum of recent COPs. COP28 focused on the transition away from fossil fuels. COP29 advanced critical climate finance negotiations. COP30 in Belém reinforced the importance of implementation, translating Nationally Determined Contributions into measurable action. The direction is already clear. My goal is to catalyse delivery and scale up action to meet the targets of the Paris Agreement.

I also want to bring together stakeholders across regions and sectors with a focus on scaling practical climate solutions. That means lowering barriers for vulnerable communities, youth, Indigenous Peoples and faith actors so they can participate meaningfully through dialogues and collaborative platforms.

Another priority is making climate discourse more relatable. Climate action cannot remain confined to boardrooms or policy circles. It must reach into our homes, communities, classrooms and workplaces.

Finally, there is the matter of delivery and complementarity. The world is currently off track in meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. COP31 is a crucial moment to bridge the implementation gap before 2030. Türkiye’s position at the crossroads of North and South, East and West, gives it a unique opportunity to help foster a more inclusive and result-oriented process.

The Role of Climate Education in Strengthening Long-Term Climate Ambition

RB: Climate education is increasingly recognized as a critical pillar for long-term climate ambition. How do you see the role of education in accelerating climate action globally?

SA: Environmental education is fundamental to building a climate-conscious society. It equips people with the knowledge, skills and values needed to understand the environmental challenges we face and take meaningful action. Achieving this requires partnerships across formal and non-formal education systems, governments, civil society, the private sector and local communities. It means recognizing the value of traditional and Indigenous knowledge, which has long guided sustainable relationships with nature.

Young people have a particularly important role to play. They are already shaping public conversations on climate and sustainability, and many are driving change within businesses, institutions and communities. Strengthening intergenerational dialogue is essential. When young people engage with policymakers and financial institutions, they become powerful drivers of ambition and accountability.

At the same time, the numbers reveal a serious gap. Research by UNESCO shows that more than half of national education curricula make no reference to climate change, and only a small proportion address biodiversity. Many teachers also report lacking the training needed to teach climate-related subjects effectively.

Climate education must therefore extend beyond classrooms and support lifelong learning, including the development of green skills for those already in the workforce.

Climate Action as a Driver of Economic Opportunity and Green Jobs

RB: Climate action is often described not only as an environmental necessity but also as an economic opportunity. How do you see the relationship between climate action and economic development?

SA: Climate action presents one of the greatest economic opportunities of our time. Countries that invest in strong climate strategies are positioning themselves for more resilient economies, greater energy security and leadership in emerging industries. These investments are already creating jobs, attracting capital, improving public health and reducing vulnerability to global energy shocks.

The transformation is underway. Renewable energy technologies like solar and wind are now often cheaper than fossil fuel alternatives, and the clean energy sector already employs more than half of the global energy workforce. With the right policies, millions of additional jobs can be created in renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport and climate-smart infrastructure.

Cities will play a particularly important role, expanding clean public transport, improving waste management, restoring green spaces and investing in energy-efficient buildings can create jobs while reducing emissions and improving urban life.

Ultimately, climate action can deliver stronger economies, healthier societies and greater long-term stability. But for this to be realized, climate policies must also support adaptation and resilience, protect vulnerable communities, and involve businesses, cities and other non-state actors so that solutions are both investable and implementable at scale.

The Importance of Civil Society and International Collaboration

RB: Civil society organizations and international partnerships play an essential role in delivering climate action. How can these collaborations help accelerate financing and implementation?

SA: Many of the solutions to climate change already exist. What is often missing is the scale of financing needed to implement them. My role as Climate High-Level Champion is to help bring partners together so that investment flows to where it can make the greatest difference. Finance is ultimately the bridge between pledges and real-world change.

At COP29, Parties agreed to scale up support for developing countries to at least $300 billion annually by 2035. They also called on all actors to work together to mobilize USD 1.3 trillion per year in climate finance by 2035. The Baku to Belém Roadmap provides a pathway to help achieve that scale.

Collaboration is essential in this context. Governments set direction through policy and regulation, but implementation at scale depends on businesses, cities, civil society, financial institutions and communities. Civil society builds trust, accountability and public support, while the private sector brings innovation, investment and operational capacity.

A Final Message: The Importance of a Just Transition

RB: Is there any final message you would like to share as the world prepares for COP31?

SA: The message I want to emphasize is the importance of a just transition. Climate action needs to move quickly but it must also be fair and inclusive. If the transition leaves people behind, it will not be sustainable in the long term.

A just transition means ensuring that workers, communities and countries benefit from climate solutions as economies change. Climate action should create new jobs, strengthen local economies and open opportunities, rather than create fear or uncertainty for people whose livelihoods depend on existing systems.

This responsibility is shared, but it is not equal. Developed countries, given their historical emissions and financial capacity, have a greater role to play in supporting a fair transition. That means meeting climate finance commitments, strengthening support for loss and damage, and lowering the cost of capital for sustainable infrastructure in developing countries.

For me, a just transition is ultimately about building systems where vulnerable communities have access to training, new skills and real support to move into cleaner, more resilient livelihoods. If done well, the transition to a low-carbon future will not only reduce emissions. It will reduce inequality, strengthen resilience and create more stable, prosperous societies for everyone.

This interview was conducted by Rodolfo “Ropo” Beltrán, Regional Director for Brazil & Latin America at EARTHDAY.ORG. It has been edited and condensed for clarity.

The post Climate Action Belongs to Everyone: A Conversation with COP31 Climate Champion Samed Ağırbaş appeared first on Earth Day.

Earth Day 2026 is less than one month away, with the EARTHDAY.ORG official theme this year being “Our Power, Our Planet”. In preparation for the holiday, the Great Global Cleanup team has been connecting with international organizations and partners to offer support and gain inspiration. 

The Great Global Cleanup connects thousands of volunteers and organizations around the world; people with different stories, goals, and meaning behind their work. Each organization we work with is unique, and we wanted to highlight the impactful, diverse actions they are all doing to help lead the charge in creating a waste-free world. We asked a few of our partners firsthand why they believe cleanups are important and what Earth Day means to them, and here’s the inspiring words they shared with us:

The Great Raleigh Cleanup: Raleigh, North Carolina, United States

In Raleigh, North Carolina, a mighty group called The Great Raleigh Cleanup works tirelessly to enhance the community by picking up litter throughout the city. They organize a variety of programs, including their Workforce Program, which offers unhoused people employment opportunities to pick up trash on roadsides, parks, and other locations. In addition to $18/hour, they also receive a free meal. No matter what the program is, TGRC brings the community together to make a difference.

Preston Ross, the organization’s Founder and Executive Director, is the leading voice behind the scenes. EARTHDAY.ORG has worked with Preston and TGRC for the past few years, and it’s been amazing to see how they inspire their community. Preston puts it into words best, and shares their plans for Earth Day this year:

The Clean Wave: Tamarindo Costa Rica

In Tamarindo on the pacific coast of Costa Rica, The Clean Wave organizes community-based cleanup events on both land and sea, focused on protecting coastal ecosystems and advancing zero-waste solutions. The organization emphasizes the idea that meaningful environmental change begins at the local level, taking collective action while contributing to a larger, global movement. Whether in town, on the beach, or scuba diving in the ocean, members and volunteers of this organization are fully dedicated to creating a cleaner environment. 

Hear from Andres Bermudez, The Clean Wave’s President and CEO, on why Earth Day is important to Costa Ricans:

Global Alliance on Environment: Ghana, West Africa

Global Alliance on Environment is a fast growing movement dedicated to environmental education outreach. Through a partnership with Ghana Education service, they organize school visits in the East Bono region of Techiman, West Africa, with the goal of educating and empowering youth to join the conservation movement. They also organize local community cleanups and Earth Day events to engage residents across Ghana.

CEO Enock Mustapha plays an active role in the outreach programs, working diligently to mobilize the younger generation. He shares his ideas on environmental change:

The Litterboom Project: Cape Town, South Africa

Founded in 2017, The Litterboom Project is an organization working year round to intercept trash in local rivers before it reaches the ocean. By identifying hotspots, the team wades into the river currents, cleaning up the water. While they do the bulk of the work, local volunteers are encouraged to attend their public cleanups, where they can clean up local beaches and make the crew’s job easier!

Casey Pratt is one of the team members working tirelessly to prevent ocean pollution. She shares the importance of getting involved not only on Earth Day, but year round:

River Cleanup: Antwerp, Belgium

River Cleanup is a global organization with a community of over 100 countries. By using their own Clean River Model, which integrates solutions for plastic-free rivers, they work to prevent new plastic pollution and permanently remove waste from their lands. Their River Watchers program invites citizens and schools to help monitor plastic pollution in rivers through AI-supported waste recognition.

On top of that, they hold both public and private cleanups across multiple countries, encouraging communities to get involved. Sarah Van de Walle and her team speaks on the mission of River cleanup:

Earth Day Network India: India and South Asia

EARTHDAY.ORG’s India team implements year-round programs that engage everyone from community-based organizations to government leaders, with efforts extending across South and Southeast Asia and strengthening collaboration in over two dozen countries.

India generates about 5.6 million tons of plastic waste annually, much of it unmanaged. To address this, EARTHDAY.ORG India partners run citizen-led initiatives to end plastic pollution, including cleanup events around the region.

Karuna Singh is the Regional Director of Asia for EARTHDAY.ORG, leading diverse teams to build partnerships and deliver climate initiatives tailored to local needs. Singh adds:

Join the Movement

From the rivers of Belgium to the reefs of Costa Rica, the message from our partners is clear: change happens when people show up.

This Earth Day, you don’t need to travel far to make a difference. A cleanup near you could be happening right now. Whether you’re a seasoned volunteer or picking up a trash bag for the first time, your action matters, and it connects you to a global community of millions doing the same.

Find a cleanup near you on the Great Global Cleanup Map, or even register your own cleanup event. Together, we are “Our Power, Our Planet.” 

The post What Earth Day Means Around the World: Voices from 6 of Our Great Global Cleanup Partners appeared first on Earth Day.

Waters beyond national jurisdiction — also known as the “high seas” — host charismatic icons like whales, rays, and sea turtles. They also contain creatures who seem to come from an alien realm: bone-eating worms snacking on whale skull, candy-colored forests of bubblegum coral, and siphonophores forming 100-foot-long chains of mouths and tentacles. But human knowledge of this life represents only a fraction of what’s really out there. In fact, scientists estimate that over 90% of marine species remain undescribed, meaning they have not been named or classified in scientific literature.

These otherworldly organisms are good for more than scientific wonder: life on the high seas also helps slow global warming. When phytoplankton photosynthesize on the sunlit surface, they fix carbon to build their biomass. This carbon moves through the food web; as organisms die and produce waste, some of the carbon sinks down to the deep sea, where it can be stored for hundreds to thousands of years. This is known as the biological pump, and it stores 2.8 billion tons of carbon annually (equivalent to 10 billion tons of CO₂).

Until now, there has been no legally binding international agreement dedicated to protecting biodiversity on the high seas, an expanse that contains 95% of the ocean’s volume. Some light finally pierced this literal and legal abyss when the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement took effect on January 17th, 2026, after nearly 20 years of negotiations at the U.N. The agreement aims to address biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation in the high seas, which are caused by climate change and pollution, including plastic pollution.

The BBNJ Agreement includes four pillars designed to protect marine species and ecosystems: here’s how each part works.

Marine Genetic Resources, a.k.a. The Biological Building Blocks of Innovation

What are marine genetic resources? Think: the chemical reaction that causes a bioluminescent jellyfish to glow, or the antifreeze proteins found in Antarctic fish that are used to improve the texture of ice cream. Marine genetic resources are the gene sequences, chemical processes, or other biological materials of marine organisms that can be used to generate new scientific knowledge and commercial products.

Marine genetic resources from the deep sea are especially eye-catching because this zone is teeming with extremophiles — organisms that thrive in extreme temperature, pressure, and darkness conditions. These adaptations are why deep-sea life often appears so alien. They’re also why researchers suspect that these creatures might contain unique genetic resources with potentially useful applications in fields like medicine, cosmetics, agriculture, and even climate change adaptation. 

The BBNJ Agreement says that marine genetic resources belong to everyone, not just the richest corporations that can most easily access them. The treaty requires benefits sharing, which means that money, data, and knowledge derived from marine genetic resources and their resulting products will be shared with the international community, particularly with developing countries. Countries will use these shared benefits to strengthen the technology and institutions that protect the sustainable use of marine genetic resources.

This effort is particularly important as humans explore the possibility of deep-sea mining, which many scientists believe would devastate these ecosystems before we’ve even had a chance to explore them. Benefits sharing makes everyone a stakeholder in the responsible use and development of marine genetic resources, creating both funding and financial incentives for their conservation.

Protecting Biodiversity Hotspots

The largest conservation area in the United States is actually in the ocean; the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is larger than all of our national parks combined. Located around Hawaii’s northern islands, this area protects diverse habitats from reefs to deep seas and hosts over 7,000 marine species. Some of these species are endangered, like the green sea turtle, and others, like the Hawaiian monk seal, cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

The second part of the BBNJ Agreement seeks to set up a network of similar marine protected areas across the high seas. Since these waters lie outside of any country’s jurisdiction, there hasn’t previously been a clear legal procedure for establishing marine protected areas here. Currently, less than 1% of the high seas are fully protected.

We don’t yet know exactly where the marine protected areas will be, but there are plenty of contenders. 

Take hydrothermal vent cities: towering chimney stacks push up from the seabed, pumping out piping-hot minerals where magma meets seawater. Microorganisms convert these minerals directly into energy through chemosynthesis — a process like photosynthesis, but swap out sunlight for inorganic compounds. The discovery of chemosynthesis radically changed scientists’ views about where life could exist and set off a whole chain of discoveries of new organisms.

Or the thermal dome: gather around! Every year in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, colliding warm and cool currents cause cold, nutrient-rich water to rise from the depths to the warmer surface, creating the perfect conditions for algae to thrive. Around this algae coalesces a vast, diverse food web. Zooplankton bring filter-feeding fish, which, in turn, bring tuna and birds of prey, eventually attracting animals like dolphins and whales. Besides being an essential food source, mating site, and nursery for a variety of migratory species, this biodiversity hotspot is also a carbon sink, meaning it reduces greenhouse gases in the atmosphere by storing more carbon than it releases.

Hydrothermal vents and the thermal dome are just two pockets in the expanse of high seas biodiversity that may finally gain protections under the treaty. 

Environmental Impact Assessments

Without an international agreement, the high seas are kind of a free-for-all in terms of commercial activity. Who is going to come after (or even notice) corporations harming the environment miles and miles away from anyone’s national jurisdiction? 

The third part of the BBNJ Agreement addresses this absence of accountability. Now, any party planning an activity in the high seas that could harm the marine environment, like deep-sea mining, industrial fishing, or building new infrastructure, must first conduct an environmental impact assessment. The treaty also requires environmental impact assessments for activities within national jurisdictions whose impacts might extend to international waters.

This assessment reports on potential environmental harms, how the party plans to mitigate these harms, any gaps in their knowledge about the expected consequences, and follow-up strategies for long-term conservation. They are also required to consult with the public after publicizing their plans. 

Each country  is responsible for making sure that any private actor under its jurisdiction complies with this procedure, and potentially harmful activities can only go forward after the authorizing country has reviewed the impact assessment and granted permission. The BBNJ’s Scientific and Technical Body also reviews environmental impact assessments throughout their development, including deciding when one is needed, identifying any relevant omissions in assessment plans, and monitoring the project’s compliance with environmental standards. 

But let’s be clear, it’s pretty hard to measure an activity’s impact when we know so little about the ecosystems that might be harmed. Recall that over 90% of marine species remain undescribed. It’s no wonder, since humans have directly observed just .001% of the seafloor. If we want accurate environmental impact assessments, we’re going to need more robust research.

Capacity Building and Technology Transfer: We’re All in This Together

Which brings us to capacity building. Knitting together equity and conservation, this final pillar of the BBNJ treaty focuses on improving our collective capability to understand and conserve life on the high seas. As we know so little about the oceans, high seas technology and scientific knowledge is cutting edge, and conducting research or implementing conservation goals in this zone is often extremely expensive. The average daily operating cost of a deep-sea research ship is around $30,000.

Not all countries have the same capacity to undertake research and support conservation efforts on this blue frontier. And, as we begin to flesh out the BBNJ Agreement’s other mandates, we need good research to support good policy. With this in mind, the fourth pillar instructs countries to share their scientific expertise, data, and infrastructure (like specialized ships or lab equipment) to help build the marine technological capacity of developing states. The more widespread, diverse, and collaborative our efforts to understand and protect high seas biodiversity, the greater our chances of meaningful conservation.

How Can You Help Protect High Seas Biodiversity?

The United States has signed the BBNJ Agreement, but it has not been ratified by the Senate, which is necessary for us to become full members. Call or write your Senator! Let them know that you care about high seas biodiversity and ask them to ratify the treaty.
The BBNJ Agreement unfortunately does not address plastic in its four pillars, even though its preamble cites plastic pollution as a key contributor to high seas biodiversity loss. Disturbingly, the deepest-ever sea dive discovered plastic wrappers 7 miles underwater in the Mariana Trench, illustrating plastic’s reach into the most hidden crevices of our planet. If you want to be part of the solution to global plastic pollution, sign our Global Plastic Treaty or consider contributing to Earth Day’s End Plastics campaign.

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As world leaders gather in Belém, for COP30, the United Nations Climate Conference, there is no better time to celebrate the extraordinary natural wonders of Brazil. Brazil isn’t just a backdrop for climate discussions — it is a living laboratory of evolution, a treasure trove of biodiversity, and home to some of the most bizarre and beautiful phenomena on Earth. From blushing dolphins to deserts that sprout lagoons with fish, here are eight incredible facts about Brazil that will change the way you see this remarkable country.

1. Dolphins That “Blush”

The Amazon River is home to an enchanting creature: the boto, or endangered pink river dolphin. While these freshwater dolphins are born gray like their oceanic counterparts dolphins, they gradually transform into various shades of pink as they mature. Their exact coloration depends on a mix of factors, including diet, sun exposure, and the layout of their blood vessels. Male dolphins can display more vibrant pink hues because their aggressive playing and fighting creates scar tissue that intensifies their rosy color. Perhaps most charmingly, some of these dolphins can turn brighter pink when excited or apparently embarrassed — just like a blushing human! 

These dolphins also possess unusually flexible necks that allow them to rotate their heads a full 180 degrees, allowing them to navigate the flooded forests and winding tributaries of the Amazon. A local folklore legend claims that the boto transforms into a handsome man at night, seducing unsuspecting women.

2. Desert Lagoons Full of Fish

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park in northeastern Brazil is a Sahara of white sand dunes. Each year, it transforms as turquoise lagoons appear among the dunes — filled with fish!

From January to June, torrential rains fill the valleys between the dunes with thousands of turquoise lagoons, which are prevented from draining by impermeable rock underneath the sandy surface. Remarkably, these temporary pools become full of fish. These traíra, or wolffish, survive the dry season by burrowing into wet layers of mud and entering a dormant state. When the rain returns months later, the wolffish emerge to populate the lagoons once again.

3. Surfing a Wave in the Amazon

The Pororoca is an extraordinary surfing phenomena. The Pororoca is a tidal bore — a wave that travels up a river, against the current — making its way up to 500 miles upstream of the Amazon River. Brazilian surfing legend Picuruta Salazar made history by riding a single Pororoca wave for 7.8 miles for over 37 minutes.

4. One Tree the Size of a Forest

In northeastern Brazil is the Pirangi cashew tree, a single cashew tree so gigantic that it is estimated to cover between 1.8 and 2.1 acres of land. Its circumference measures 1,600 feet, which is equivalent to 70 standard, adult cashew trees. In addition to its impressive size, the Cashew of Pirangi is estimated to be over 1,000 years old.

5. An Island Ruled by Snakes

Off Brazil’s Atlantic coast lies Ilha da Queimada Grande, ominously known as “Snake Island” — an isle that lives up to its name. This small island is packed with 2,000 – 4,000 golden lancehead pit vipers, a critically endangered species found nowhere else on Earth. 

Local legend abounds with tales of tragic fates — from a fisherman discovered dead in his boat covered in bites after landing in search of bananas, to the last lighthouse keeper and his entire family, who allegedly perished in the 1920s when snakes slithered through their windows. The Brazilian Navy has prohibited public access to protect both the snakes and would-be visitors from each other.

6. Dust Feeds the Amazon

One of nature’s most remarkable long-distance relationships connects two seemingly disparate ecosystems: the Amazon Rainforest and the Sahara Desert. 

In 2015, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, used satellite technology to measure this phenomenon, discovering that wind and weather patterns lift an average of 182 million tons of dust from the Sahara each year and carry it on a 1,600 mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean — with 27.7 million tons settling in the Amazon basin. In 2021, this dust was estimated to deliver approximately 22,000 tons of phosphorus, an essential nutrient for plant growth — roughly the same amount the Amazon rainforest loses every year to rain and flooding.

It is a stunning reminder that Earth’s ecosystems are intimately connected, even across vast distances.

7. Jaguars of the Giant Wetland

The Pantanal in Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay is the world’s largest tropical wetland, covering an area 20 times larger than the Florida Everglades. This seasonally flooded plain harbors the highest density of wild jaguars anywhere on Earth. While jaguars are typically elusive in dense rainforests, the Pantanal’s open wetlands provide the best place on Earth to catch sight of these cats.

8. Earth’s Biodiversity Champion

Brazil is the undisputed champion of global biodiversity. Between 15 to 20 percent of all known species on Earth call Brazil home. This extraordinary diversity of life stems from Brazil’s array of ecosystems — six terrestrial biomes that allow a variety of life to flourish. Brazil’s biodiversity continues to grow, with an average of 700 new animal species discovered each year.

As world leaders gather in Belém, these eight facts serve as a powerful reminder of what’s at stake. Preserving Brazil’s natural heritage isn’t just about preserving remarkable facts for articles — it’s about safeguarding the ecological systems upon which all life, including our own, depends. As we look towards Belém for COP30, let Brazil’s extraordinary nature inspire us to take bold action for our shared planetary home.

Join EARTHDAY.ORG in growing a greener future through our Canopy Tree Project! We are on a mission to plant 60 million trees by our 60th anniversary — and we can’t do it without you. Your support helps restore forests, clean the air, and protest biodiversity around the world. Please consider donating to the project and help keep our planet green!

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Our favorite group of illusionists is reuniting for a diamond heist movie, but bunnies in hats and precious jewels aren’t the only things disappearing. 

Delegates are currently gathering in Belém, Brazil, for COP30, the 30th annual Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It is estimated that Brazil hosts 15-20% of the world’s biodiversity, making it the most biodiverse country in the world, largely because the nation is home to a vast quantity of endemic species; species that only live in defined geographical regions. 

Unfortunately, the environments that make Brazil, the world’s biodiversity hotspot, is rapidly disappearing, and it’s not because of magic… it’s because of mining. 

Over the past 300 years, Brazil’s mining industry has evolved from a volatile, boom-and-bust gold rush economy to a global powerhouse in minerals, including iron ore, bauxite, nickel, rare earth minerals and diamonds. In 2023, Brazilian mineral exports reached a staggering $42.98 billion, and output continues to climb. Unfortunately, government regulation has lagged behind, failing to keep up with the industry’s explosive growth and its negative environmental impact.

Although existing legislation encourages some degree of formalization of some mining activities, through mining permits, worker cooperatives, and new monitoring mechanisms (including the use of satellite data), “garimpo” mines which are small, artisanal, and often occur on land where mining is illegal, remain unregulated. 

As the Brazilian mining industry expands its global reach (mining exploration investments in Brazil increased by 51.6% from 2019 to 2024), persistent underregulation casts a long shadow, posing severe threats to Brazil’s forests, the nation’s biodiversity, its waterways, and the indigenous communities who call the land home.

A Vanishing Act: Brazilian Forests

Even as the world celebrates an 11-year deforestation low in Brazil, the impact mining has on forests is undeniable. In 2015, a comprehensive study  attributed 9% of total deforestation between 2005 and 2015 in the Brazilian Amazon to activities associated with mining. 

Mining is a particular menace for the Amazon because it causes direct deforestation, the complete clearing of vegetation for open-pit mines (like those for iron-ore and bauxite), and indirect deforestation which refers to the clearing of forests for mining associated activities, like building extensive networks of access roads. 

This double burden means more trees get cut down, more habitats get destroyed, and more species are lost. A search of the IUCN Redlist for species in Brazil reveals that 1,810 species in the country are currently classified as “endangered” or “critically endangered,” and habitat loss is a key factor.  

On top of these threats, illegal garimpo mining has been pervasive in Brazil. A 2024 study exploring garimpo mining operations found that  91% of the garimpo mining operations studied from 1985 to 2022 occurred on protected land in the Amazon rainforest.

Smoke, Mirrors, and Poisoned Rivers 

Brazil’s intricate river systems allow contamination to travel far beyond the mining site. The process of gold extraction, uses mercury to create mercury-gold amalgam which can have far reaching impacts.

Mercury waste products seep or get dumped into rivers, where they contaminate aquatic environments. This toxin can bioaccumulate, or build up over time in different levels of the food chain, leading to dangerous mercury levels in fish, which are a staple protein for rural villages. Research is ongoing, but some river communities are noticing an increase in birth defects and neurological disorders that could be related to mercury consumption.  

Even large river systems like the Madeira and Tapajós rivers have seen contamination, with river studies from 1992 to 2022 showing the persistent presence of mercury in aquatic ecosystems. Additionally, illegal garimpo mining can result in mining by-products, or tailings, getting dumped directly into streams and tributaries, causing severe pollution and sometimes visibly altering the color and life within the waterways, something the world witnessed in 2015, when a dam break allowed disgustingly yellow sludge from the Doce River to reach the Atlantic Ocean.

Cut in Half: Invasion of Indigenous Land 

The 1988 Brazilian Constitution restricts illegal mining on Indigenous lands, but high demand for minerals has driven miners to Indigenous lands anyway. In 2022, garimpo mining extraction areas covered 2630 km^2, 12 times larger than the area in 1985. On these lands, lack of regulation isn’t the problem; in 2022, at least 15% (390 km^2) of garimpo mining occurred in regions that ALREADY restrict mining activity, including indigenous lands. 

Beyond the loss of land, mining on and near indigenous communities has been attributed to a host of health issues, including malnutrition and food insecurity as hunting and planting areas are contaminated. In 2023, the condition of the Yanomami people of the Amazon, who have been greatly impacted by mining, was described as a humanitarian crisis and “genocidal neglect.” The Brazilian government has made significant strides since then, expanding health services and discouraging mining in the area, but a long road remains ahead. 

Poof! Catastrophe

In 2019, the world watched in horror as scenes from Brumadinho Dam collapse in Minas Gerais, Brazil gained international coverage. The dam was used to store the sludge-like by-product of a nearby iron ore mine. During its collapse, that sludge spread to the Doce River and the Atlantic Ocean, contaminating aquatic environments and ecosystems and killing wildlife. An estimated 270 people died. 

The collapse sparked a national and international outcry for justice, stricter mining regulations, and greater corporate accountability. Vale, the corporate owner of the dam, agreed to pay around $7 billion in restitution to communities and families affected by the dam collapse. The company also announced its intent to decommission its other tailings dams in the country, a strong step in the right direction for industrial mining in Brazil. 

Beyond the “Magic” Trick

The great illusion of unchecked mining is costing us one of the planet’s most vital ecosystems. While the delegates at COP30 debate policy in Belém, the Amazon rainforest — the ground beneath their feet — is being sacrificed for gold, diamonds and rare earth minerals. 

The loss of trees, the poisoning of the Tapajós and Madeira rivers, and the threat to Indigenous ways of life are not a clever magician’s trick; they are a direct and documented consequence of unregulated mining. 

Just as illusionists need an audience to complete their act, the fight for the Amazon needs your voice. Don’t let the Brazilian rainforest and its people disappear in this “vanishing act” of corporate and regulatory neglect. Support EARTHDAY.ORG’s Canopy Tree Project to preserve the world’s forests.

If you want to learn more about why forests matter – please watch our brand new series UNDERREPORTED EARTH – “TREE TALES”– IG TRAIL. 

Tracy McVeigh from The Guardian speaks with three top investigative journalists about their groundbreaking reporting: Elisangela Mendonça uncovers how the Amazon rainforest is being threatened by the collagen industry. Josephine Moulds takes us into the Congo Basin, where fossil fuel auctions are endangering one of the world’s most vital forest ecosystems. Ana Bottallo travels deep into the Amazonian mangroves to witness how local communities fought —  to have their voices heard.

The episodes go live November 17/18th/19th across EARTHDAY.ORG social media  on Facebook: Ep.1, Ep.2, Ep.3   and YouTube:  Ep.1, Ep.2, Ep.3.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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As COP30 enters its fourth day in Belém, Brazil, a growing global movement is calling for climate education to become a cornerstone of national strategies.

In an exclusive interview with Juan Carlos Navarro,  the current Minister of Environment for Panama and the President of the Forum of Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean (for the 2025–2027 term). Speaking with Rodolfo Beltrán, Director of South America, EARTHDAY.ORG, Minister Juan Navarro’s  remarks arrive at a pivotal moment, as world leaders gather in the heart of the planet’s most biodiverse nation to chart the course for the next decade of climate action.

Ropo Beltran:  As Panama assumes the Presidency of the Forum of Ministers of Environment of Latin America and the Caribbean, what do you consider to be the most important achievements of this major regional and international forum, and what are the joint future goals of this important forum of 33 ministers?

Minister Juan Navarro: When assuming the Presidency of the Forum, Panama recognizes that this platform is the main political space for environmental coordination in the continent. Historic results were achieved in Lima: a renewed agenda that responds to the triple planetary crisis with concrete action plans on restoration and water security, air quality, chemicals, waste, and methane reduction. Essential approaches were also incorporated, such as circular economy, gender equity, environmental education, and Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge.

Our goal now is clear: to turn these commitments into measurable results, drive their financing, and ensure that each country moves forward with the technical and political support of the Forum. Panama will work to strengthen implementation and cooperation among the 33 countries, ensuring that the voice of Latin America and the Caribbean is heard as one in global Forums!

Ropo Beltran: The Forum in Lima adopted key regional action plans to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. How will these collective measures—such as the updated Regional Action Plan on Ecosystem Restoration and Water Security, and the new programs on air quality, chemicals, and methane emissions—generate long-term social and economic benefits for the region?

Minister Juan Navarro: The decisions adopted in Lima respond to the urgency of addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution simultaneously. The new regional plans propose solutions with direct social and economic benefits: restoring ecosystems improves water and food security; reducing methane decreases pollution and creates opportunities for innovation in the waste sector; improving air quality reduces public health costs.

These measures are not only environmental—they are engines of sustainable development and green employment. Latin America can lead an ecological transition with social justice, and the Forum will be the platform that integrates science, policies, and financing to achieve it. We will also strengthen synergy among the three Rio Conventions: Climate Change, Biodiversity, and Desertification, to ensure coherence in implementation and maximize shared benefits for communities and ecosystems.

Rodolfo Beltran: With 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean now aligned under a renewed agenda, how do you envision this unity strengthening the region’s voice in global negotiations, particularly at COP30 in Belém at the end of this year?

Minister Juan Navarro:The regional unity achieved in Lima is a political message of enormous weight. In a fragmented global context, Latin America and the Caribbean demonstrated that they can speak with one voice. This will strengthen our common positions in spaces such as the United Nations Environment Assembly and COP30 in Belém. Panama will promote coordination among our three major Rio Conventions—Climate Change, Biodiversity, and Desertification—under a unified approach of coherence and integrated action. Only then can we negotiate as a bloc, attract financing, and demonstrate that the region is not a source of problems but a source of solutions.

Ropo Beltran: The Forum highlighted the Regional Action Plan for Jaguar Conservation as a symbol of ecological connectivity and biodiversity protection. Why are these emblematic species so important for the region, and how can their conservation contribute to broader ecosystem restoration goals?

Minister Juan Navarro:The Regional Action Plan for Jaguar Conservation symbolizes the connection between biodiversity and human well-being. Protecting the jaguar means maintaining biological corridors that ensure the health of our ecosystems, water regulation, and climate stability. These species are indicators of ecological balance and also of cultural identity. Their conservation drives sustainable tourism, strengthens local economies, and fosters regional pride in our natural heritage.

Panama is committed to promoting projects that integrate science, communities, and financing to protect these species and restore ecosystems at a regional scale.

Rodolfo Beltran: The Lima Declaration emphasized the importance of gender perspective, Indigenous knowledge, circular economy, and education for sustainability. In your opinion, how can education and public awareness be scaled so that communities in Latin America and the Caribbean become active participants in this transition?

Minister Juan Navarro: Environmental and climate education is the foundation of all transformation. If we want just and sustainable transitions, communities must be protagonists. From Panama, we will promote a regional pillar of education for sustainability involving schools, universities, media, and community organizations.

The Lima Declaration marked a turning point: incorporating gender perspective, traditional knowledge, and the circular economy into education. Our commitment is that these principles be reflected in public policies and national budgets. An informed and empowered citizenry is the best tool to care for the planet.

This week, Panama’s Ministry of Environment launched a public consultation on a draft decree to establish a National Carbon Market System (SNMCP), a measure that would consolidate the country’s regulated voluntary carbon market and activities under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This represents a significant step forward for Latin America’s leadership in developing high-integrity, transparent carbon markets that generate real results for climate and nature.

With the public consultation of the Executive Decree creating the National Carbon Market System (SNMCP), Panama takes a historic step toward a climate model of high integrity, transparency, and environmental justice. This system consolidates our voluntary carbon market and connects it with the mechanisms of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, ensuring that every reduction or removal of emissions is real, measurable, and verifiable.

With the public consultation of the Executive Decree creating the National Carbon Market System (SNMCP), Panama takes a historic step toward a climate model of high integrity, transparency, and environmental justice. This system consolidates the role of the voluntary carbon market and connects it with other market mechanisms such as those under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, ensuring that every reduction or removal of emissions is real, measurable, and verifiable.

Through the SNMCP, Panama reaffirms its commitment to maintaining its status as a carbon-negative country, promoting a green economy that generates employment, protects forests, and directly benefits local and Indigenous communities. It is an example of the Latin American leadership we want to project toward COP30 in Belém, demonstrating that sustainable development and climate action can advance together.

Rodolfo Beltran: This week, Panama’s Ministry of Environment launched a public consultation on a draft decree to establish a National Carbon Market System (SNMCP), a measure that would consolidate the country’s regulated voluntary carbon market and activities under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. This represents a significant step forward for Latin America’s leadership in developing high-integrity, transparent carbon markets that generate real results for climate and nature. Tell us about that.

Minister Juan Navarro: With the public consultation of the Executive Decree creating the National Carbon Market System (SNMCP), Panama takes a historic step toward a climate model of high integrity, transparency, and environmental justice. This system consolidates our voluntary carbon market and connects it with the mechanisms of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, ensuring that every reduction or removal of emissions is real, measurable, and verifiable.

With the public consultation of the Executive Decree creating the National Carbon Market System (SNMCP), Panama takes a historic step toward a climate model of high integrity, transparency, and environmental justice. This system consolidates the role of the voluntary carbon market and connects it with other market mechanisms such as those under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, ensuring that every reduction or removal of emissions is real, measurable, and verifiable.

Through the SNMCP, Panama reaffirms its commitment to maintaining its status as a carbon-negative country, promoting a green economy that generates employment, protects forests, and directly benefits local and Indigenous communities. It is an example of the Latin American leadership we want to project toward COP30 in Belém, demonstrating that sustainable development and climate action can advance together.

Rodolfo Beltran: What is the role of civil society and climate education in NDCs?

Minister Juan Navarro: We deeply recognize and value the work of organizations such as EARTHDAY.ORG in promoting climate education as a pillar of Nationally Determined Contributions. Climate action cannot be limited to governments; it requires alliances with civil society, the private sector, and academia.

From Panama, we extend an invitation to EARTHDAY.ORG and other like-minded organizations to collaborate on regional initiatives such as the Nature Pledge, which promotes synergy among the three Rio Conventions and the integration of education, biodiversity, and climate under one framework. 

We firmly believe that climate education can and should be a driver of regional cooperation and cultural transformation. Forming conscious and committed citizens is as important as reducing emissions. We will work with regional partners to turn education into a tool of resilience, equity, and joint action.

EARTHDAY.ORG’s Rodolfo Beltran as well as Bryce Coon, our Director of Education, and MAx Falcoe , our Global Advisor are on the ground at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, ensuring that climate education remains firmly on the agenda. Alongside ministers, negotiators, and civil society, they’ll be pushing for the inclusion of education in every single nation’sNDC. You can keep track of progress with our Climate Education NDCs Tracker.

The post Exclusive: Panama’s Environment Minister Champions Climate Education at COP30 appeared first on Earth Day.

Every year, thousands of climate experts, activists, and policymakers gather for an annual conference on climate change. Called the Conference of Parties, or COP, this annual meeting  for all 198 parties included in the United Nations Framework on Climate Change brings together a diverse group of world leaders, institutions, climate experts and a whole army of fossil fuel lobbyists to discuss climate and national commitments. 

This year, COP30 is hosted in the heart of the Amazon: Belém, Brazil. As global emissions remain high, it’s a critical moment of international reckoning. In 2024, global CO2 emissions rose by 0.8% to a record high of 37.4 billion tonnes, pushing atmospheric CO2 concentrations to 422.5 parts per million — about 50% higher than pre-industrial levels. 

So just who will be in ‘the room’ at COP30 where decisions to tackle these issues get made?  Special envoys will be key; these are volunteers selected by the COP Presidency to represent key sectors and regions. 

These envoys are tasked with facilitating the flow of information between stakeholders and COP leadership and they act as key points of contact. This year, there are 7 international envoys for strategic regions who each bring years of governing experience and unique regional perspectives to COP30. Let’s meet them….

1. Adan Amin (Middle East) 

Adan Amin, the Chair of the World Energy Council, is the special envoy for the Middle East at COP 30. A sustainable development economist by trade, Mr. Amin stepped onto the world stage in 2011 as the first director-general of the International Renewable Energy Agency, which rapidly became an authoritative voice for the renewable energy transition. 

Amin was selected as the Chief Executive Officer for COP28, leading the negotiations that launched the UAE consensus. We’re excited to see how Mr. Amin leverages his wealth of international negotiation experience in Brazil this November! 

2. Jacinda Ardern (Oceania)

Dame Jacinda Ardern, who served as the Prime Minister of New Zealand from 2017 to 2023, is a special envoy for Oceania at COP 30. 

Having achieved international acclaim for her self-described “empathetic approach” to leadership, Dame Ardern chose to resign as PM in 2023. Since stepping down, she has continued to work on the issues that defined her premiership: making space for new styles of leadership, combatting extremism, and defending the environment. 

Today, her extensive involvement includes being a fellow at Harvard University, a trustee for Prince William’s innovative environmental competition: the Earthshot Prize, a patron of Christchurch Call to Action which is dedicated to eliminating terrorist and violent extremism online content, and founder of the Field Fellowship on empathetic leadership. It will be interesting to see how Dame Ardern leverages this diverse experience to build crucial dialogue across priority sectors in COP 30. 

3. Patricia Espinosa (Latin America)

Patricia Espinosa is a distinguished Mexican diplomat and global climate leader who currently serves as the CEO and co-founder of onepoint5, a climate and ESG (environment, social, governance) consulting group. 

During her tenure as Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) from 2016 to 2022, Ambassador Espinosa shaped the implementation of the Paris Agreement Rulebook. 

Prior to this role, she served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico (2006–2012). With more than 35 years of experience in diplomacy and international relations, we look forward to seeing how Ambassador Espinosa guides action items at COP30. 

4. Arunabha Ghosh (South Asia) 

The founder and CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), a prominent climate think tank, Arunabha Ghosh has more than two decades of experience across 54 countries as a climate leader. 

In 2022, the UN Secretary-General appointed him to the High-level Expert Group on the Credibility and Accountability of Net-Zero Announcements by Non-State Actors. 

In Oct 2024, the Government of India appointed him to the Commission for Air Quality Management. Dr.Ghosh also serves as a co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on the Energy Nexus. Over the past few months, Dr. Ghosh has gone on a “listening tour” of South Asia to prepare for his role as special envoy and will bring those concerns, perspectives, and innovative ideas to COP 30. 

5. Carlos Lopes (Africa) 

A development economist, chair of the African Climate Foundation, and honorary professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance at the University of Cape Town, Carlos Lopes intends to bring a distinctly African perspective to COP30. 

Dr. Lopes has previously served as the eighth Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa from 2012 to 2016, and as High Representative of the African Union for partnerships with Europe. 

For this COP, he’ll be returning to a familiar environment having previously served as the United Nations Development Program Resident Representative in Brazil, overseeing one of the largest UNDP programs globally. In his recent articles for Project-Syndicate, Dr. Lopes has emphasized the importance of building value-chains and expanding the carbon market regulations. We look forward to seeing how he advocates for these action items for COP 30. 

6. Jonathan Pershing (North America)

Dr. Jonathan Pershing is a globally recognized expert in climate diplomacy, currently serving as the Program director of Environment at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. He brings decades of experience in governance and international engagement. 

A veteran of the UN climate process since 1990, he served as the lead U.S. negotiator for the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and was part of the IPCC team awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for their landmark report on climate change. 

His distinguished career includes high-level roles as Deputy to Presidential Envoy John Kerry and Special Envoy for Climate Change at the U.S. Department of State, alongside senior positions at the U.S. Department of Energy, the International Energy Agency, and the World Resources Institute.

7. Laurence Tubiana (Europe)

Laurence Tubiana is a leading international climate diplomat and CEO of the European Climate Foundation (ECF). Her pivotal role as France’s Climate Change Ambassador and Special Representative for COP21 meant she was a key architect of the successful Paris Agreement. 

She founded the prestigious think tank, the Institut du Développement Durable et des Relations Internationales (IDDRI), and continues to shape policy as co-chair of the Global Solidarity Levies Task Force, a professor at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, and chair of the Paris Climate School at Sciences Po. 

In recognition of her contributions to diplomacy and environmental policy, she was awarded the prestigious Légion d’Honneur in 2024. Tubiana has been outspoken on deepening European and Brazil cooperation at COP30, and we’re excited to see how updated NDCs reflect this desire. 

What’s Next? 

The conversations and negotiations at COP 30 will help shape a global roadmap, but the true change starts at home. While world leaders debate policy, we must shift from being observers to participants.
Do not let the headlines pass by without action. Commit to implementing one change in your daily habits to support the environment — whether it’s switching to public transport, embracing meatless meals, or supporting vital initiatives like Earthday’s Canopy Tree Project. We must hold ourselves accountable to our planet. Your daily decisions are the most powerful climate policy we have.

This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is cleared for use with attribution. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at davies@earthday.org or fielder@earthday.org. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.

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Opinion

At first glance, it may seem like the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP30, chose a fitting location for its talks. Belém, a large Brazilian city at the mouth of the Amazon River, is near one of the most biodiverse places in the world, and one of the most threatened by climate change. However, shortly after it was chosen, climate change experts worldwide began to question whether selecting this location prioritized symbolic dedication over actual change. 

As early as March 12th, 2025, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that the conference was being used to justify building a road through the Amazon rainforest. While Brazil has denied allegations that this road, called the Avenida Liberdade, was connected to the summit, interviews with government insiders, locals, and a professor of urban studies in the state suggest that it provided the “necessary justification” to move forward after decades of pushback from citizens. The road’s construction has cut down açai trees, harming local harvesters, and built walls around the road (ironic, for a road called “freedom”), dividing forest habitats. 

This project is one of several meant to “modernize” the city, in part for the conference. As environmentalists, we might want to protest it, call that kind of justification weak, and argue for an environmentalism more focused on action than image. However, as we do so, it’s essential to understand that Brazil is only following a trend that developed nations expect, even while calling for sustainability. 

An Unspoken Pattern…

This brings us to the second criticism of COP30: price. Many hotels in Belém are charging over $1,000 per night for the conference, about 10-20 times their usual price, and four times the usual United Nations rate. And the nations that cannot afford these prices — including Chad, Panama, and island states — are among the most heavily impacted by climate change. Some argue that this choice is intentional, and matches a longstanding effort to exclude “developing,” less wealthy nations from environmental decision-making. 

Delegation size has been one such mode of exclusion. While developed nations (nations with more industrialized economies, higher standards of living, and more robust infrastructure, such as the U.S., most of Europe, and Japan), have increased their delegation size over time, developing countries (nations with less industrialized economies, lower standards of living, and less infrastructure, including large parts of of Africa, Asia, and Latin America) have not, all while the agenda items per conference has increased by 50 and 87 per cent from 1995 to 2023. 

While larger delegations can manage this expansion in conference workload, the smaller delegations cannot ensure that they can attend every session. The UNFCCC Trust Fund for Participation, meant to help support developing countries, has been accused by some of being chronically underfunded, and has strict eligibility criteria — for most nations, they must have a GDP of $14,000 U.S. dollars to be eligible. This can leave many nations that might need aid, specifically lower-middle-income ones, and conflicted-affected ones, out. 

Travel also prevents equal participation. When Poland hosted COP14, a Pakistani delegate was refused a visa, and many sub-Saharan African delegates struggled to get visas from the three Polish embassies that exist in the region. At COP26, Glasgow’s pandemic-related requirements, including quarantine measures that cost £2,285 per person, meant that some Pacific Island nations had to send fewer than ten people. Just one conference later, at COP27, over a hundred delegates from developing nations trying to attend and to speak in Germany faced visa complications.

Furthermore, since 2009, developing countries pledged to give developing nations $100 billion per year by 2020 to bolster climate action, but according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), only met this target by 2022.  And whether the OECD is right about that has been disputed; the European Chair for Sustainable Development and Climate Transition, a research body in Paris, has suggested that it might not have been met that year either. 

Nevertheless, according to leaders of developing nations, even the newly revised pledge of $300 billion is not enough to address the devastating effects of climate change on their countries. Delegates from developing countries often face greater challenges to attend these conferences in person, and then find that the powerful nations are not listening when they get there. 

…Of Broken Promises

Things came to a head at the last conference, COP29, held in Baku, Azerbaijan. The conference had been criticized prior to its start for its host country’s authoritarian, environmentally unsustainable government, as well as for waging acts of aggression on its neighboring country, Armenia. 

During Baku, the LDCs (Least Developed Countries) and AOSIS (Association of Small Island States) entered finance negotiations only to find that the rest of the delegates had drafts of detailed finance plans that they had not received and, perhaps even worse, had not been consulted on.  Because of this, and missed fundraising targets, many delegates from developing nations walked out of the conference in frustration. 

Now, as COP30 approaches, the exclusionary hotel costs seem to reflect the same ongoing patterns, and potentially a desire not to avoid the critically important conversations — and even protests — that are often a vital part of successful COPs. Brazil bears some responsibility for this, but, given that it is also part of the Global South and was historically colonized, its aim towards modernization also makes sense. 

It is a tale as old as time that “modernized,” “developed,” or “First World” countries have had greater decision-making power in international institutions, and can sometimes choose whether they want to acquiesce or ignore countries that do not meet this threshold. But when it comes to the issue of climate change, the hypocrisy of this is that it is these same countries that are most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions, and often the least impacted by climate change. From 1820 to 2024, Europe and North America have contributed 60% of emissions, while South America and Africa emitted 3% each. 

So, keeping the developing countries out of the room isn’t just wrong, but counterproductive to environmentalism itself: How can we expect to understand and address what climate change is doing to the world if we don’t listen to the people who are most affected? And how do we make progress if we’re unwilling to reckon with our past mistakes?If the world wants to move beyond symbolic gestures and toward real, inclusive action, it can start by supporting projects that empower the very regions being sidelined. Initiatives like EARTHDAY.ORG’sCanopy Tree Project, which helps restore forests and strengthen communities around the world, including the Global South. By strengthening our ties with environmental activists around the world, we can have a diverse group of voices to truly ensure that environmentalism protects the whole planet — not just the few and the powerful.

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