Brazil’s co-op movement is trying to boost its presence in climate discussions.
And reaffirm its commitment to sustainability ahead of COP30.
With the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) taking place in Belém, Brazil, in November, the country’s co-op movement is trying to boost its presence in climate discussions and reaffirm its commitment to sustainable development.
Co-ops are key players in Brazil, accounting for 75% of wheat, 55% of coffee, 53% of corn, 52% of soybeans, 50% of pigs, 46% of milk and 43% of beans produced. The nation’s 4,500 co-ops represent 23 million members.
In March, the Brazilian Cooperative Organisation (OCB) published a COP30 Manifesto, after a series of conversations with member organisations and co-op leaders which started at the 15th Brazilian Cooperative Congress in 2024.
The manifesto focuses on five key areas: food security, technology and low-carbon agriculture, valuing communities and climate funding; energy transition and sustainable development; bioeconomy as a development driver; and adaptation and mitigation of climate risks.
It says co-ops play a key role in balancing productivity and sustainability, by promoting technology, agricultural modernisation and productive organisation. But, the manifesto adds, “to move forward, it is essential to adapt sustainable production metrics, increase investment in tech in the field, strengthen green economic instruments and ensure predictability in global trade”.
Climate funding needs to reach communities directly, the manifesto adds – and this can be done via co-ops. Ways forward include decentralising global resources, ensuring the efficiency of the carbon market and implementing payment policies for environmental services.
“By allowing co-operatives to directly access these funds, it will be possible to accelerate investments in sustainable practices, renewable energies and climate resilience, ensuring that resources reach those who need them most,” says the manifesto.
Co-ops also have a role to play in the energy transition, it adds, particularly when it comes to distribution. Brazil’s energy matrix must be strengthened by renewable energies such as solar, wind and biogas.
OCB argues that while co-ops can leverage the transition to sustainable production models in the Amazon and other biomes, they need to be supported by proper public policies and financial incentives, and investment in technological innovation, genetic improvement, biotechnology and artificial intelligence.
Biofuels make up 25% of transport fuel in Brazil – although scientists are divided on their merits. A 2024 article by The Ecologist warned that a large-scale expansion of biofuels “could intensify the negative side effects of agricultural growth”.
On its adoption in 2012, Brazil’s Forest Code was criticised by Greenpeace Brazil and other green groups for being weaker that its 1965 precursor. The code grants amnesty to landowners who illegally deforested land before July 2008, reduces how much land must be restored and defines buffer zones and river/stream protection in weaker terms. States or municipalities are also able to reduce the size of Legal Reserves under certain conditions.
On the other hand, by establishing a Rural Environmental Registry and legal frameworks for environmental regularisation, the law has increased transparency and landowner engagement, making enforcement more likely. According to a report by the Climate Policy Initiative, the number of CAR registrations rose by 5.7% in 2024 from the previous year, reaching a total of 7.65 million by November 2024.
In a 2015 report, WWF warned tthat even though Brazil has had legislation in place to protect forests since 1934, “this has never stopped deforestation”. WWF added that the effective participation of decision-makers and supply chain actors is required for the new Forest Code to be fully implemented.
This is where co-ops came in: the OCB System played an important role in implementing the new Forest Code, organising more than 200 workshops in partnership with the Ministry of the Environment (MMA). These initiatives have encouraged millions of rural producers to sign up to the CAR, bringing them into compliance with legal requirements and demonstrating that it is possible to reconcile productivity and preservation, says OCB.
The manifesto also argues that co-operatives are leading adaptation actions, such as restoring infrastructure, adopting sustainable production systems and developing technologies to deal with extreme events.
Indigenous populations can also play an important role. For example, the Foresters and Reforesters Work Cooperative of the Pataxó Boca da Mata Indigenous village (Cooplanjé) in Bahia has reforested 210 hectares of Atlantic Forest in the Monte Pascoal-Pau Brasil Ecological Corridor.
Co-ops are also contributing to the Plan for Adaptation and Low-Carbon Emissions in Agriculture (ABC Plan), a national programme to promote low-carbon and climate-resilient agricultural practices launched in 2020. The manifesto points out that co-ops have participated in the construction and implementation of the ABC Plan, with initiatives including helping farmers implement technologies and good practices.
Another OCB pilot initiative has seen 18 co-operatives, with more than 236,000 members and 31,000 employees, helping to identify, reduce and neutralise their greenhouse gas emissions.
As to energy efficiency, OCB has offered training and consultancy to 15 co-operatives which together have a turnover of more than R$66bn, 1.2 million members and more than 71,000 employees.
In this context, the manifesto asks for the strengthening of the ABC+ Plan, full implementation of the Forest Code, expansion of climate insurance and modernisation of the adaptation infrastructure.
“We call on governments, international organisations and other actors in society to strengthen policies to promote the co-operative model as a solution to climate challenges. The fight against climate change is an opportunity for economic and social transformation. We believe that through co-operation we can go the extra mile and make a difference for a better future,” it says.
Some of these issues were explored during the International Workshop on the Role of Family Farming Cooperatives in the Context of COP 30. The event, held in Belém in August, in partnership with the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Farming (MDA) and the UN, heard from a range of Brazilian and international speakers. Dirk Nemitz from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change said it is vital to have input from smallholder farmer organisations on the challenges they face over climate change, adaptation and resilience.
And World Farmers Organisation secretary general Andrea Porro called for a paradigm shift ahead of COP 30, recognising farmers as indispensable partners in climate action. “Farmers are not ‘asking for money’; they are offering solutions that are worth investing in,” he said, adding that agri co-ops already deliver climate-smart services: technical training, access to resilient seeds and organic inputs, group loans for drip irrigation and solar pumps, and peer-to-peer learning.
