Nature-based solutions, citizen participation, and green infrastructure point the way to combating the climate crisis with social justice.
The experience of Itaipu Binacional in sustainable territorial development was one of the solutions presented for building cities better prepared for climate impacts. The topic was highlighted during the panel “Turning Challenges into Solutions: Resilient and Inclusive Cities in the Face of the Climate Crisis” on Tuesday (11th), during COP30 in Belém (PA).
The Coordination Director of Itaipu, Carlos Carboni, emphasized that the company’s work is based on three inseparable pillars: care for the environment, the economy, and people. While presenting the Itaipu More than Energy program, which structures Itaipu’s socio-environmental actions, he highlighted the importance of science and environmental education to confront climate change denial.
According to Carboni, urban resilience involves including the most vulnerable populations, restoring ecosystems, and structuring participatory public policies.
Among the programs developed by Itaipu, he mentioned Coleta Mais, aimed at waste management and the inclusion of waste pickers, present in 200 municipalities in Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul and, more recently, in Belém. The initiative organizes selective collection, strengthens cooperatives, and promotes the dignity of those who live from recycling, turning one of the main urban challenges into sustainability and local development.
These and other actions led by Itaipu are aligned with the pillars of COP30, promoting integrated initiatives focused on water security, reducing inequalities, and addressing the climate crisis. As part of its commitment to innovation, it also includes solutions such as green hydrogen-powered vessels for collecting recyclables on islands in Belém and the surrounding region, resulting in social and environmental benefits.
“Resilient cities are those that leave no one behind. Our work shows that it is possible to guarantee climate justice with social development and environmental protection,” said Carboni, noting that the adaptation agenda must incorporate productive inclusion and participatory governance.
One of the event’s highlights was the presentation of the partnership with Belém’s waste picker cooperatives through the Coleta Mais program. Adriana Bahia, president of Concaves, one of the four cooperatives benefiting in the capital of Pará, moved the audience by sharing how the initiative is transforming the reality of local waste pickers. The program provides infrastructure, equipment, training, and technical support, enabling cooperatives to organize and expand their work capacity and income generation.
Débora shared that she now takes pride in being a waste picker and in showing the work she does. “Before, many waste pickers like me would say: ‘I want my child to study so they don’t have the same future I did.’ Today, our dream is for our children to study and be able to manage everything that is being built.”
The president also highlighted the strengthening of infrastructure, training, and management and financial organization tools, such as the Recyclometer, which provide transparency in results and expand opportunities for cooperatives. Some examples she cited were contracts they signed to provide various services to companies during COP30.
“It’s a dream coming true. Today, when we want to understand how a structured cooperative works, we have to go to São Paulo or Brasília. With the completion of the works, we will be able to say: you don’t need to go there; you can come here to Concaves, because you will understand the workflow and see how a waste picker cooperative can manage waste efficiently, effectively, and, above all, valuing the work of the pickers,” declared Adriana.
The event also featured Larissa Felip, representative of the Tekotopa Environmental Center in Paraguay; Ana Marcela Bergamasco, biologist and environmental analyst at Petrobras; and Enzo Bello, PhD in Law and professor at Fluminense Federal University.
More than Energy
Itaipu’s presence at the 30th Climate Conference reinforces the Binational commitment to a just energy transition and the Itaipu More than Energy program, which integrates initiatives in sanitation, green infrastructure, environmental education, innovation, and productive inclusion in the territories where the Binational operates.
With more than 40 years of operation and over 3.1 billion MWh of energy generated for Brazil and Paraguay, the plant has invested in technological modernization and socio-environmental programs, consolidating a model that combines clean, accessible energy with territorial development.
