Supported by the Brazil Mutirão program, Amazonian municipalities are developing climate plans and concrete projects through a partnership between local governments, the Federal Government and international networks
Brazil marks Amazon Day on September 5, a date meant to draw global attention to the importance of preserving the planet’s largest tropical rainforest.
Protecting the Amazon, though, involves far more than fighting deforestation, which in 2026 fell to the lowest level of deforestation alerts recorded in the historical series tracked by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
It also means focusing on the region’s cities, home to millions of people, where choices about infrastructure, public services, waste, mobility and economic development shape how territories respond to climate change.
Since COP30 in Belém last year, the Brazil Mutirão Program, a joint effort between C40 Cities and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM), has been working with 11 Amazonian cities across multiple areas of climate action, combining planning, stronger public sector management and the development of concrete solutions.
Among the cities involved are Altamira, Barcarena, Boa Vista, Cáceres, Parintins and Rio Branco, which are building up their climate governance and drafting local climate action plans.
These plans help municipalities identify the risks they face, pinpoint their main sources of emissions and set priorities for reducing those impacts while preparing for a changing climate.
Other Amazonian cities are moving forward with specific projects under the program. Ananindeua and Benevides are working to organise their handling of organic waste, aiming to cut methane emissions and support a circular economy.
Belém and Porto Velho are pushing sustainable urban mobility projects, including upgrades to public transport and the electrification of vehicle fleets.
Rio Branco is pairing the development of its climate plan with efforts to improve waste management.
Hélinah Cardoso, Engagement Lead for the C40 x GCoM Mutirão Programme, described the approach as one that moves from planning into action, understanding each city’s challenges, setting priorities and enabling solutions suited to the realities of each Amazonian territory.
She noted that partners including the National Front of Mayors and ICLEI, Local Governments for Sustainability, are helping speed up and strengthen the process.
The initiative builds on the cooperation established around COP30, showing how that momentum can continue after the conference by connecting national and local governments, technical expertise and local needs to convert climate commitments into concrete action across Brazilian cities.
The program works closely with federal partners, including the Ministry of Cities, the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, the COP30 Presidency and the Council of the Federation.
Belén Jiménez, Senior Engagement Manager at GCoM, said: “The Amazon is at the heart of the global climate agenda, but its transformation also depends on cities’ ability to plan and act.”
One tool supporting this work is the City Climate Compass, an artificial intelligence platform developed by C40 Cities and GCoM that draws on climate data, local emissions information and risk assessments to help municipalities prioritise climate action.
The platform is already active in 50 Brazilian municipalities and includes a public climate information database.
In Rio Branco, the tool is helping shape the city’s climate plan by ranking actions according to identified risks and opportunities, illustrating how technology can widen access to climate data.
Sandino Lamarca, Senior Data Manager for C40 and GCoM, said: “With easier access to information, data and new technologies, cities can turn the complexity of climate challenges into clearer decisions about where and how to act.”