Brazil’s Participatory Climate Plan

Amid Brazil’s escalating climate challenges—extreme rainfall, landslides, droughts, and heatwaves—the federal government developed the Climate Plan, a strategic framework to guide policy through 2035. Led by the Interministerial Committee on Climate Change (CIM), coordinated by the Ministries of Environment and Climate Change (MMA) and Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI), it involves 23 ministries, the Climate Network (Rede Clima), and the Brazilian Climate Change Forum.

A hallmark of the Plan is broad public participation. Through in-person and digital consultations, citizens can submit suggestions, critiques, and proposals on mitigation and adaptation strategies. All inputs are reviewed by the relevant ministries, with transparent feedback on their integration.

The Plan has two pillars: the National Mitigation Strategy, to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and the National Adaptation Strategy, to boost resilience and reduce vulnerabilities in communities, sectors, and ecosystems.

Five cross-cutting strategies guide its implementation: Just Transition; Socioeconomic and Environmental Impacts; Means of Implementation; Education, Capacity Building, Research, and Innovation; and Monitoring, Governance, and Transparency.

This case highlights how social mobilization and active listening shapes democratic, effective climate policy.

The Climate Plan was developed through five structured phases, each designed to ensure broad democratic participation.

• Phase 1 – Submission of Proposals (June–September 2024):
  During this initial phase, proposals for the Climate Plan were submitted and voted on, complemented by in‑person plenaries in eight cities across all Brazilian biomes. The 10 most‑voted proposals in each thematic area were reviewed by relevant institutions. Eighteen proposals were fully incorporated, and 203 were partially integrated into the Plan.

• Phase 2 – Consultation on the National Adaptation Strategy (October–November 2024):
  This phase gathered public contributions on the National Adaptation Strategy. The final document will be published after a detailed review of the inputs, with the release date to be announced.
• Phase 3 – Consultation on Sectoral and Thematic Adaptation Plans (March 10–May 9, 2025):
  Society was invited to contribute to adaptation plans addressing key sectors and themes such as energy, health, urban areas, and Indigenous peoples. The finalized plans will be published once all proposals are consolidated and analyzed.
• Phase 4 – Consultation on the National Mitigation Strategy (April 9–May 9, 2025):
  The government presented the National Mitigation Strategy for public consultation, focusing on measures to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions. The final version will be released after incorporating public feedback.
• Phase 5 – Second Consultation on Mitigation and Sectoral Plans (Dates TBD):
  The final phase will include an additional consultation to refine targets and actions in both the mitigation strategy and sectoral plans. Finalized versions will be published afterward.

The participatory process was facilitated through the Brasil Participativo platform, developed by the University of Brasília’s LAPPIS lab and supported by the open‑source Decidim community. Transparent processing of inputs was ensured via public media, social networks, and institutional outreach. With no dedicated financial budget, the Climate Plan leveraged existing digital infrastructure and partnerships, making the initiative both cost‑effective and scalable.

Since late 2023, Brazil’s Climate Plan has been developed through a broad participatory process led by the Interministerial Committee on Climate Change (CIM), which includes 23 ministries, the Climate Network (Rede Clima), and the Brazilian Climate Change Forum. Known as the Participatory Climate Plan, the process engages society via the Brasil Participativo platform—an online tool for public input.

The platform is coordinated by the Directorate of Digital Participation and Network Communication under the National Secretariat for Social Participation, which promotes dialogue with civil society. It is supported by the Ministry of Management and Innovation, which oversees the Gov.br digital identity system used to access Brasil Participativo, and by Dataprev, a public tech company managing government data systems.

Operationally, the platform is developed and maintained by the Advanced Laboratory for Research, Production, and Innovation in Software at the University of Brasília (LAPPIS/UnB), with support from the global open-source community Decidim.

The Climate Plan’s development included a national communication strategy to mobilize and engage society throughout participation stages.

This strategy combined digital tools with coordinated outreach across local territories, forums, and institutional channels throughout Brazil.

A decentralized, multichannel approach promoted the participatory phases to reach diverse audiences in various regions effectively.

• Territorial Engagement: State-level and biome-based assemblies shared information and guided access to the digital platform.
• Institutional Coordination: Federal forums and councils were activated to extend invitations through established governmental and civil society networks.
• Support Materials Production: Instructional videos, tutorials, and tailored content helped users navigate the Brasil Participativo platform.
• Digital Campaign: A social media content calendar targeted different audiences to boost participation in each stage of the process.
• Online Dialogues: YouTube sessions featured public officials and civil society leaders discussing the platform and Climate Plan proposals.
• Press and Public Media: National and regional media coverage, including Rede EBC, amplified the call for public engagement.

The strategy was jointly implemented by sectoral ministries, led by MMA, MCTI, and the General Secretariat’s Social Participation Secretariat.

The initiative was implemented without dedicated financial resources, leveraging the pre-existing infrastructure of the Brasil Participativo platform. This platform had been previously developed and is maintained with technical and operational support from the Advanced Laboratory for Research, Development, and Innovation in Software at the University of Brasília (LAPPIS/UnB), along with the global open-source community Decidim.

At the federal level, the initiative was led by a general coordinator and a technical analyst from the Directorate for Digital Participation and Network Communication, housed within the National Secretariat for Social Participation of the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic. This team worked in close collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, which oversees the thematic coordination of the Climate Plan.
 

• Expanded Reach and Public Engagement
  The Brasil Participativo digital platform was central to expanding public participation in developing Brazil’s Climate Plan. It engaged around 46,000 unique users, generated over 340,000 page views, and reached individuals in more than 65 countries. In the initial phase, civil society submitted approximately 1,300 proposals, along with nearly 47,000 votes and 2,400 comments. In later consultation phases—focused on the National Adaptation Strategy, sectoral plans, and the mitigation strategy—over 4,200 additional comments were collected. This strong engagement was driven by a combination of digital communication, grassroots mobilization, and a user-friendly platform. Notably, activity increased on days with targeted social media outreach and in-person events.
• A More Democratic and Representative Climate Plan
  The integration of public input helped shape a more democratic and inclusive Climate Plan, reflecting Brazilian society’s diverse priorities. Key themes such as “Traditional Peoples and Indigenous Communities” and “Forest Protection and Restoration” emerged prominently from public contributions, strengthening the plan’s legitimacy and responsiveness.
• Democratizing the Climate Conversation
  This participatory experience also helped demystify climate policy, turning a technical subject into a socially rooted, accessible process. It demonstrated how public engagement can deepen understanding and ownership of climate action. As a result, the process is now serving as a reference for designing inclusive engagement strategies ahead of COP30, which Brazil will host in November 2025.

• Digital divide
  A major barrier to citizen participation in digital processes is digital exclusion. Despite growing internet access in Brazil, many regions still face limited connectivity. This reality undermines the inclusiveness of participatory efforts, restricting access to the Brasil Participativo platform and reducing the ability of certain groups to contribute meaningfully to public consultations.
   
• Limited engagement with technical and complex issues
  The climate crisis involves highly technical and specialized concepts—such as "carbon neutrality," "energy transition," and "climate resilience"—that are often unfamiliar to the general public. This complexity can discourage participation and create a perception that climate policy is a domain reserved for experts. Making these topics accessible and relevant to a broad range of audiences was a central challenge in promoting meaningful, informed, and inclusive engagement.
   

The Participatory Climate Plan demonstrates strong potential for replication across federal, state, and municipal levels, thanks to its use of reusable modules from the Brasil Participativo platform. This digital infrastructure allows other public institutions to implement participatory processes without building tools from scratch. The platform also supported major initiatives like the National Culture Plan and the Participatory Multi-Year Plan (PPA 2024–2027), the latter recording over 1.5 million interactions—the largest digital participation effort in Brazil to date. By adopting open, adaptable technology, the government promotes democratic innovation, efficient resource use, and a stronger culture of participation in public administration.

The Climate Plan represents a major advance in creating public policies that are more democratic, inclusive, and responsive to society. Through digital innovation, public input, and social mobilization, the initiative engaged a wide range of citizens in shaping a complex policy area. With measurable outcomes in public proposals, comments, and territorial reach, the process sets a replicable model for participatory governance. It not only informs future climate action but also serves as a foundation for inclusive engagement strategies towards COP30

https://brasilparticipativo.presidencia.gov.br/processes/planoclima/

gov.br/planoclima

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZeMz9CqKfI