In August 2025, Brazil became a hub for climate philanthropy as Rio Climate Action Week coincided with a revitalised Black Philanthropy Month. Comic Relief representatives, including the Head of Climate Justice, Senior MEL Manager, and POP Fund Lead, visited São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to engage with partner organisations and thought leaders advancing climate justice through resilience, cultural strategies, and anticipatory social protection. The visit aimed to strengthen partnerships and deepen understanding of what is working on the ground, how challenges are being addressed, and how funding can achieve the greatest impact. Funded partners included Casa Fundo Ambiental, Instituto Fome Zero, ICCI, and Fundación Avina, alongside other innovative organisations such as Estudio Clarice, Terra FC, Labóra, Morada Comum, and the Blue Skies Foundation.
The urgency for climate justice in Brazil is heightened by the upcoming COP30 in November, which positions the Global South at the forefront of climate action discussions. Organisations engaged with Comic Relief are strategising around COP30 while simultaneously addressing ongoing climate impacts, such as the devastating Rio Grande do Sol floods of April 2024. The trip highlighted the vibrancy of Brazilian civil society and its ongoing efforts to build long-term solutions in climate resilience, adaptation, and social justice.
Innovation was a central theme of the visit. Partners are developing locally-driven solutions that integrate community knowledge, cultural engagement, and anticipatory social protection to mitigate climate risks. Initiatives include upskilling journalists and community representatives to communicate social and environmental justice effectively. Comic Relief emphasised the importance of patient, flexible funding that allows innovative ideas to take root and grow over time, rather than expecting immediate results. This approach ensures that interventions are locally relevant and sustainable.
The team also attended GIFE’s Black Philanthropy Month event in Rio, focusing on memory, reparation, and racial justice. Speakers highlighted the critical link between climate justice and racial justice, noting that Black and mixed-race populations, now representing 55.5% of Brazil, have historically been overlooked in climate funding. The event underscored the importance of acknowledging historical injustices to build equitable and sustainable futures. Initiatives such as Terra FC use sport and pop culture to mobilise communities around climate action, showing the power of trusted messengers to engage audiences effectively.
Key takeaways from the ten-day visit included the interconnectedness of climate justice, democracy, and racial justice, and the need to focus on both preventing climate change and adapting to its impacts. The trip reinforced the importance of proximate funding led by local actors, ongoing engagement beyond conferences, equitable collaboration between Global South and North actors, and leveraging civic power and cultural platforms to drive meaningful climate action. Comic Relief’s experience in Brazil highlighted that funders must adopt impact definitions shaped by the priorities and visions of local communities most affected by climate change.
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