Sharing Solutions at COP30
More than just energy, Itaipu is about action.
The Itaipu Binacional hydroelectic power plant is an international benchmark in the generation of clean and renewable energy, as well as in the promotion of sustainable territorial development, with several initiatives that contribute to tackling climate change.
In Brazil, these efforts are part of the Itaipu More than Energy program and are carried out in 434 municipalities across Paraná and Mato Grosso do Sul, as well as in Belém (Pará), the host city of the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP30.
Program
Check the Itaipu's Agenda at COP30
Schedule subject to change.
Videos
Infographics
Explore the infographics below to see how Itaipu’s initiatives are interconnected and how they contribute to fostering sustainable territorial development.
Actions
Check out the company's main actions below, aligned with the COP30's thematic axes
Itaipu's actions in Belém
Itaipu Binacional’s support for COP30 is part of its commitment to the global sustainability agenda and reinforces the connection between forest conservation and water security in the hydroelectric sector, demonstrating that caring for the environment and the region’s communities means caring for the future of energy generation.
Combating climate misinformation
Climate misinformation is a central theme at COP30. Itaipu Binacional seeks to contribute to this issue by promoting scientific information and sharing ways to identify the main misinformation strategies.
Itaipu's Actions
Questions and answers
Itaipu Binational is an example of how science can be used to promote human development. It is no exaggeration to say that without cutting-edge research and scientific knowledge, there would be no Itaipu electricity powering the homes of Brazilians and Paraguayans.
There is an immense amount of scientific knowledge required to operate the plant, ranging from civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering to environmental expertise applied in the care of the reservoir, protected areas, and surrounding territory.
Climate science is also essential to understanding the relationships between the climate and the waters of the Paraná River, the raw material for energy generation at Itaipu. For this reason, climate change is a subject Itaipu follows with great interest.
Mitigating impacts and promoting resilience and adaptation to climate change are issues directly linked to Itaipu’s business. They are part of the company’s strategy in caring for water, the territory, and people.
In this context, the company is also committed to combating climate misinformation. Today, more than 97% of climate scientists agree that human activity, especially fossil fuels, is altering the Earth’s climate.
However, this consensus is not reflected in society at large. Economic, political, and ideological interests often overshadow scientific knowledge and resort to spreading false information to cast doubt on climate science.
The lack of awareness about the urgency of this issue has delayed action. As a result, many impacts of climate change are already irreversible and have been affecting the lives of millions worldwide, as well as causing species extinction, ecosystem collapse, and economic losses.
For all these reasons, climate misinformation is a central theme at this 30th COP. Itaipu seeks to contribute to this issue by disseminating scientific information and providing tools to identify the main strategies of climate misinformation.
Climate change impacts the economic activity of Itaipu Binacional: the generation of clean and renewable energy for Brazil and Paraguay. To sustain this activity in the long term, the company develops social and environmental actions that contribute to the sustainability of communities, economic activities, and ecosystems connected to the plant.
These actions also contribute to the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change within the company’s area of operation. For this reason, they are shared at climate conferences with other governments and organizations, aiming to support Brazil’s strategy of leadership in climate action and the sustainable development agenda.
As part of this commitment, Itaipu supports the hosting of COP30 in Belém not only by sharing best practices and participating in discussions but also through investments totaling R$ 1.3 billion, enabling structural improvements that benefit around 1.3 million people in 37 neighborhoods, including 89 families of waste pickers, providing better working and income conditions. These actions strengthen the social legacy of the conference.
Itaipu’s involvement in COP30 reinforces the connection between the conservation of the Amazon Forest and the water security of the national hydropower sector, demonstrating that caring for the environment and local communities is also caring for the future of energy generation.
Hydropower has historically been the main source of electric energy in Brazil, accounting for 60% of the electricity consumed in the country in 2023, according to the 2024 National Energy Balance.
Hydropower generation is strongly influenced by the natural variation of the hydrological regime, and thus periods of drought or rainfall directly affect the generation of power plants.
The increase in the global average temperature results in impacts on atmospheric circulation systems and the hydrological cycle, consequently affecting precipitation. Changes in precipitation patterns, whether in quantity or in their seasonal and geographic distribution, can affect water availability for hydropower plants, harming reservoir management and electricity production.
Although influenced by precipitation variability, energy generation depends on the inflow rates to hydropower plants, which are related not only to rainfall behavior but also to a series of other factors such as the capacity to regulate flows through reservoirs, water uses within the watershed, evapotranspiration, and other aspects that influence water runoff, such as vegetation cover and soil type.
The atmosphere has a natural greenhouse effect: part of the sun’s rays that reach the Earth are “trapped” in this layer of gases surrounding the planet, which helps create the conditions necessary for life as we know it. However, since the Industrial Revolution, the burning of fossil fuels has produced gases that increase this greenhouse effect and, consequently, the planet’s average temperature. It’s as if we are making the “blanket” that surrounds the planet increasingly thicker.
Climate science shows a clear and direct relationship between the growth of emissions and temperature. With more energy in the atmosphere, the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events increase, such as cold and heat waves, storms, droughts, and floods. Higher temperatures also contribute to the melting of the poles and glaciers, which leads to rising sea levels.
The burning of fuels in transportation or coal for generating energy and heating homes are examples of how fossil energy contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. However, another climate villain is deforestation of forests and woodlands, which also releases carbon dioxide and reduces the number of trees and plants. These, in turn, play an important role in the climate by sequestering (removing) carbon from the atmosphere.
Source: un.org
The world’s average temperature is rising faster than at any time in history, causing changes in Earth’s weather patterns. This change has no single cause, but what science is certain of is that human activity is strongly involved.
Among the main causes are:
- Energy generation through the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, or gas), whether to produce electricity, for transportation (road, maritime, or air), or to heat/cool homes and buildings;
- The manufacturing of products such as cement, iron, steel, electronics, plastic, among others, which release greenhouse gases;
- Deforestation for the creation of farms or pastures, urban expansion, logging, or other reasons (trees absorb carbon dioxide, and their destruction limits nature’s capacity to absorb greenhouse gas emissions);
- Food production using unsustainable techniques, since, besides deforestation for expanding agriculture and livestock, tilling (or leaving the agricultural soil exposed) releases organic matter that generates greenhouse gases; additionally, livestock flatulence and waste from cattle, pigs, and other animals are strong producers of methane gas, one of the most aggressive greenhouse gases;
- Excessive consumption also contributes to climate change: the richest 1% of the global population accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions than the poorest 50%.
Source: un.org
In 2024, Brazil was one of the hottest places on the globe, recording its warmest year in history. According to data from the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet), the average temperature in the country was 25.02 °C, the highest since 1961, when this type of data began to be recorded. But how is the planet’s average temperature calculated?
According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), this figure was calculated based on the analysis and consolidation of values obtained by six independent climate services. Three are from U.S. institutions: the space agency (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the non-governmental organization Berkeley Earth. The other three are Copernicus from the European Union, the Met Office from the United Kingdom, and the Japan Meteorological Agency.
Local temperature measurement is done in various ways. On land, thermometers mounted at tens of thousands of weather stations provide precise air temperature readings. Ships and floating buoys in the ocean capture surface sea temperatures. The calculation of the global average temperature takes all these data collected on land and ocean surfaces into account. Historical data series show a rising trend, with the year 2024 being considered the hottest on record.
Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O) are the main greenhouse gases (GHGs). CO2 is produced, for example, by the burning of fossil fuels or by wildfires. Methane, in turn, results from the decomposition of organic matter (such as livestock waste). Nitrous oxide can be produced by the use of fertilizers.
Based on a study spanning 20 years, methane is 80 times more potent than CO2 as a driver of climate change, and in relation to nitrous oxide, this proportion is 280 times.
Unlike other countries, where the energy sector is the main emitter of greenhouse gases, in Brazil, these emissions are mainly due to Land Use Change and Land Use, which includes deforestation. Learn more about Brazil’s emissions in the 6th edition of the Annual Estimates of Greenhouse Gas Emissions — Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
Source: unep.org
Around the world, changes are being observed in the atmosphere, oceans, and continents caused by human activity. These changes have led to losses and damages to nature and people. Vulnerable communities worldwide, which have contributed least to greenhouse gas emissions, are among the most impacted by climate change.
According to the latest IPCC report, it is unequivocal that human activity has warmed the planet. As consequences, there is the rise in sea levels and increased frequency and intensity of heatwaves, droughts, storms, and tropical cyclones.
Approximately 3.6 billion people worldwide live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change. The vulnerability of humans and ecosystems is deeply interconnected. The intensification of climate change has led to food insecurity and reduced access to water, as well as loss of human lives and economic damage from climate disasters.
Many of the losses caused by climate change are already considered irreversible, especially in ecosystems where biodiversity loss is proven, with extinction of fauna and flora species. In urban areas, impacts on health, housing, and infrastructure—including transportation, sanitation, and energy systems—are well documented.
Source: Synthesis Report for the Sixth Assessment Report (IPCC) ippc.ch
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988, with the objective of providing policymakers with regular scientific assessments on climate change, its impacts, and potential future risks, as well as proposing adaptation and mitigation options.
Currently, the IPCC has 195 member countries, including Brazil, and compiles findings from research conducted by thousands of scientists worldwide. Through its assessments, the IPCC determines the state of knowledge on climate change, identifies scientific consensus, and highlights areas where further research is needed. These assessments provide essential inputs for international negotiations aimed at addressing climate change.
The IPCC Assessment Reports consist of contributions from three Working Groups and a Synthesis Report that integrates these contributions and any special reports prepared during the same assessment cycle. The IPCC Special Reports address specific issues agreed upon by member countries, and the Methodology Reports provide practical guidelines for preparing greenhouse gas inventories.
Source: ippc.ch
Addressing climate change involves mitigation strategies (focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions) and adaptation strategies (aimed at building resilience to its impacts). The actions and commitments of countries to promote these strategies are primarily expressed in the Paris Agreement, and the advancement of these actions largely depends on Climate Finance.
Additionally, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development gives special attention to climate action, highlighted in the targets of Sustainable Development Goal number 13 (SDG 13), ‘Climate Action.’
It is important to emphasize that SDG 13 is interconnected with all other SDGs, as climate change impacts food production, urban infrastructure, access to clean water, public health, ecosystems, and other issues addressed by the 2030 Agenda.
Brazil is committed to several important actions related to SDG 13:
- Expand resilience and adaptive capacity to risks and impacts resulting from climate change and natural disasters;
- Integrate the National Policy on Climate Change (PNMC) into national policies, strategies, and planning;
- Improve education, increase awareness, and increase human and institutional capacity on climate change, its risks, mitigation, adaptation, impacts, and early warning; and
- Encourage the expansion of international cooperation in its technological and educational dimensions, aiming to strengthen capacities for climate change-related planning and effective management in least developed countries, including with a focus on women, youth, local communities, and marginalized communities.
For citizens, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) highlights the following actions:
- Disseminate reliable information on climate change;
- Pressure local politicians and businesses to commit to eliminating and reducing carbon pollution;
- Change their mode of transportation to decarbonize mobility worldwide; control their energy consumption;
- Adapt their diet to increase plant-based consumption, as much of the world’s land has been used for pasture and livestock;
- Consume sustainable and locally sourced products;
- Avoid wasting food;
- Dress smartly, recycling clothes and avoiding the rampant consumption of so-called fast fashion;
- Plant trees; and
- Make planet-friendly investments, such as avoiding pollution-promoting industries.
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Source: ipea.gov.br, unep.org
Mitigation is essentially about reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as enhancing the removal of these gases from the atmosphere through carbon sinks, such as forests, for example.
Therefore, mitigation is one of the main strategies to respond to climate change, as it aims to stabilize the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and, consequently, stabilize the global average temperature.
In Brazil, greenhouse gas emissions are mainly due to the reduction of forest cover. Emissions decreased compared to 2005 levels, primarily due to the reduction of deforestation in the Amazon between 2005 and 2012. However, since 2018, they have started to rise again.
In the last three years, there has been a reduction thanks to the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon (PPCDAm), launched in June 2023 (learn more at: https://www.gov.br/mma/pt-br/assuntos/combate-ao-desmatamento-queimadas-e-ordenamento-ambiental-territorial/controle-do-desmatamento-1/amazonia-ppcdam-1) .
Another important strategy is the National Plan for the Recovery of Native Vegetation (Planaveg), which aims to restore 12 million hectares of forest by 2030 and is one of Brazil’s commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Despite this, and Brazil’s commitment to eliminate deforestation by 2030, it will not be enough for the country to meet its international targets. Therefore, a new Climate Plan is being developed, containing the country’s main mitigation and adaptation strategies (learn more at: Plano Clima — Ministério do Meio Ambiente e Mudança do Clima)
Source: ipea.gov.br, unep.org
According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), adaptation is the process of adjustment to current and expected climate effects.
In human systems (cities, agricultural and industrial production, energy generation), adaptation aims to moderate or avoid harm, as well as to exploit beneficial opportunities. In some natural systems, such as terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, human interventions can facilitate adjustment to climate changes and their effects.
A first step toward adapting to future climate is to reduce vulnerabilities and exposure to current climate variability; next, plan adaptation; implement initiatives; and, as a final stage, monitor and evaluate adaptation.
Adaptation strategies and actions can increase resilience across a range of future climate scenarios, while contributing to improved human health, living conditions, economic and social well-being, and environmental quality (IPCC, 2014).
In Brazil, over the past 10 years, 83% of Brazilian municipalities have faced some disaster associated with extreme weather events, affecting about 117 million people. According to the Adapta Brasil platform, around 66% of these municipalities have an adaptive capacity to climate change considered low or very low.
Hence the importance of developing adaptation strategies. This is part of the new Climate Plan currently being developed by the Brazilian government.
Fontes: gov.br, Adapta Brasil, Plano Clima
In the dictionary, among its meanings, resilience is the ability to recover from adversity; overcoming. In agronomic terms, resilience is the capacity of an ecosystem to recover and resume the same functions after a certain impact (drought, flood, fire, deforestation, etc.). Adaptation, in the climate context, is the ability of systems or populations to adopt measures and practices to reduce the impacts caused by climate change.
Studies indicate that global warming is expected to cause climate changes capable of strongly and negatively impacting natural environments and agricultural systems. And from this arises the need for adaptation strategies to promote increased resilience of productive systems, reducing their vulnerability and increasing their adaptive capacity in the face of impacts caused by climate events.
The Paris Agreement is the result of the 21st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) held in 2015 in Paris. At this COP, a new agreement was adopted with the central goal of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change and enhancing countries’ ability to deal with the impacts resulting from these changes.
The document, adopted by 195 Parties, came into force on November 4, 2016. The overall target is to keep “the increase in the global average temperature well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and to pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”
The Paris Agreement is considered a milestone in the multilateral climate change process because, for the first time, a binding agreement brings all nations together to combat climate change and adapt to its effects.
Its implementation requires social and economic transformation based on science. Since 2020, countries have been submitting their national climate action plans, known as NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions).
Every five years, the Paris Agreement process is reviewed through the so-called Global Stocktake (GST), a kind of inventory of what has been done in terms of climate adaptation and mitigation. The latest was conducted during COP28 in Dubai.
The Paris Agreement provides a framework to support capacity building and technical and financial assistance to promote climate action.
Source: https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement
The Paris Agreement established that each country should describe and communicate its post-2020 climate actions, known as NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions).
NDCs represent efforts to mitigate national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Together, these climate actions determine whether the world will meet the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement and achieve a global peak in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as soon as possible.
It is understood that reaching the emissions peak will take longer for developing countries, and that emissions reductions will be carried out based on equity and within the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty, which are critical priorities for these countries.
Source: https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/nationally-determined-contributions-ndcs
As host of COP 30, Brazil was the second country to update its NDCs, during the 29th UN Climate Conference in Baku in November 2024.
Brazil’s current NDC includes the goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by between 59% and 67% by 2035, compared to 2005 levels, which is equivalent to reaching between 850 million and 1.05 billion tons of CO2 equivalent in absolute terms.
Based on the new NDC, Sectoral Mitigation Plans were developed, aligned with the goal of promoting climate neutrality by 2050 and the overall objective of the Paris Agreement of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
Climate Finance is the mobilization of resources to address the effects of climate change, that is, to promote mitigation and adaptation actions. The Paris Agreement states that developed countries (which were the main beneficiaries of the industrial revolution and, in that process, were primarily responsible for greenhouse gas emissions) should provide financial assistance to developing countries, which need to solve their infrastructure, health, education, and job creation issues, among others, without increasing their emissions.
In this context, the Means of Implementation (MoI) are instruments that enable the transformation of climate commitments into concrete actions. According to the UNFCCC, the MoI include climate finance, technology transfer, capacity building, and other forms of technical and operational support. Additionally, the MoI are aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 17 (SDG 17), which emphasizes the importance of partnerships and financing for promoting sustainable development.
Please refer to the link below to learn about some of the main sources of climate finance at the Federal, State, Municipal, and International levels.
Source: Financiamento Climático — Ministério do Meio Ambiente e Mudança do Clima
COP stands for Conference of the Parties. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) annually brings together the signatory Parties (countries) in global conferences. Its collective and consensual decisions can only be made if unanimously accepted by the Parties, and are binding and binding for all signatory countries.
Its purpose is to regularly review and make the necessary decisions to promote the effective implementation of the Convention and any legal instruments that the COP may adopt.
The COP also has the mandate to:
. Periodically review the obligations of the Parties and the institutional mechanisms established by this Convention;
. Promote and facilitate the exchange of information on measures adopted by the Parties to address climate change and its effects;
. Promote and guide the periodic development and improvement of comparable methodologies for preparing inventories of greenhouse gas emissions by sources and removals by sinks;
. Review and adopt periodic reports on the implementation of this Convention.
The COP has a secretariat headquartered in Bonn, Germany, which keeps all information related to the Convention up to date on the website www.unfccc.int:
Source: What are United Nations Climate Change Conferences? | UNFCCC
Before defining what climate disinformation is, it is important to understand the concepts of misinformation, mal-information, and disinformation.
Misinformation refers to false information that was not created with the intention to cause harm. It is simply an error. A news article with outdated, incorrect, or swapped data is an example of misinformation.
Mal-information, on the other hand, has a malicious intent. It involves using data with the purpose of causing harm to a person, organization, or country. When mal-information uses false information, it is characterized as disinformation.
In the context of climate change, disinformation is used to discredit science, cast doubt on research about global temperature rise, its causes and consequences, and the related responsibilities.
It is largely characterized by the denial of scientific evidence (hence the term “climate denial”) and by spreading ideas such as: the temperature is not rising; or, even if there is a temperature increase, it is not caused by human actions; or that human influence exists, but the consequences will be positive.
Another aspect of disinformation in the sustainability context is so-called “greenwashing”. It refers to the dissemination of information about a company, product, or service as if it were environmentally friendly, when it is not, misleading the public.
Greenwashing is characterized by the use of vague expressions such as “green,” “eco-friendly,” “100% ecological,” or “biodegradable,” without further explanation. In the context of climate disinformation, a certain technology, product, or service may be promoted as “zero emission,” hiding the fact that its production or use generates greenhouse gases and contributes to climate change.
Journalist and researcher John Cook, from the Climate Change Communication Research Hub at Monash University (Australia), established a classification of the main disinformation strategies used to cast doubt on climate science. These strategies reveal a pattern already used to discredit science in other situations, such as studies that highlighted the health hazards of smoking.
The five main categories are:
False experts: Using as a source someone who has no authority to speak about climate, often with some scientific background but not in climate-related sciences. A practice related to this technique is the promotion of a “false debate,” where a climate scientist is put to discuss with a denier, creating the false impression that there is scientific debate on the issue, when in fact there is consensus on climate change and human influence.
Logical fallacies: This category includes several subcategories, such as attacking the person instead of discussing the issue itself (“ad hominem” or argument against the person), or exploiting ambiguity (for example, claiming that because climate change happened in the distant past without fossil fuel burning, there is no relation between the two).
Impossible expectations: Saying, for example, that they will only believe in global warming when scientists claim to be 100% certain about their predictions. Science uses cautious language. Scientists rarely claim 100% certainty on a given topic, especially regarding future predictions. They use expressions like “very likely” or “high degree of confidence,” which deniers exploit to cast doubt on climate science.
Cherry picking: It refers to focusing on one piece of data that supports a viewpoint to draw broad conclusions, such as claiming that a particularly harsh winter this year is enough to deny that global temperature is rising.
Conspiracy theories: When a person believes there are undeclared interests, hidden facts, or some conspiracy involving scientists, governments, companies, organizations, etc., who want to hide the truth, impose an evil plan, or something similar.
This response was based on content from the course “How to Cover the Climate Crisis – and Fight Disinformation,” from the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas.
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