The Heinrich Böll Foundation, operating in Brazil for 25 years and working in cooperation with various civil society organizations, publicly expresses its disagreement with the statement made by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on November 13th.
Belém is a vibrant and welcoming city, evidenced by the hospitality with which its population received the participants of COP 30. It is a hub where science, culture, and traditional knowledge converge, as demonstrated at the COP30 People's Summit held at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA). Its rich gastronomy reflects the Amazonian biodiversity and the deep connection between local population, their territories, and the forest.
Hosting COP 30 in Belém, in the Brazilian Amazon, presents a unique opportunity for the international community to engage directly with the largest tropical rainforest on the planet. Being present in the territory allows for a deeper and more sensitive understanding of the region's challenges and contributes with the development of structural solutions to the climate crisis, grounded on meaningful dialogue and the empowering of the forest peoples. We must not forget that the Amazon Rainforest serves as an important carbon sink, a fact of considerable relevance for both economic and climate negotiations.
As a German organization committed to socio-environmental justice, we recognize and value the decades-long cooperation among Germany, Brazil and the Amazon in the scientific and development fields. We reiterate our gratitude to the civil society organizations of the Brazilian Amazon for their continued partnership and reaffirm our commitment to collaborating in the promotion of rights, democracy, and the protection of the world's largest tropical rainforest.
Regine Schönenberg
Director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation office in Rio de Janeiro
