The municipality of Campo Grande (MS) will host, between October 22nd and 24th, the 1st Central-West Regional Meeting of ICLEI Brazil. With the theme "Biodiversity and Climate," the initiative marks a strategic moment of mobilization for local governments and partners in the region, expanding the dialogue around sustainable solutions in the context of COP30, which will be held in November in Belém/PA.

The event will be held at the Senai Construction College Auditorium and will bring together municipal and state managers, representatives from the federal government, academia, the private sector, and civil society. The program includes lectures, roundtables, workshops, and technical visits, addressing topics such as climate federalism, mitigation and adaptation, energy transition, zero-carbon solutions, and the integration of climate and biodiversity.

“The Central-West region, due to its socio-environmental richness, has much to contribute to the global climate and biodiversity agenda. This meeting strengthens cooperation between different levels of government and sectors of society, a fundamental condition for advancing sustainable and just solutions towards COP30 in Belém, and also for the COP15 of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), which will take place in Campo Grande in 2026,” declares Rodrigo Perpétuo, Executive Secretary of ICLEI South America.

Campo Grande as host

Associated with ICLEI since 2023, Campo Grande has established itself as a benchmark for sustainable practices in the Midwest. The city has already hosted initiatives of the network, such as the workshop "Agricultural Innovation and Climate Adaptation," held in 2024, which brought together experts to discuss integrated solutions for environmental conservation and sustainable development in the Pantanal.

Regional and global context

The meeting is taking place against a backdrop of global urgency. The last decade has been marked by record-breaking temperatures and an intensification of extreme weather events, while the Central-West region plays a crucial role as it is home to globally important biomes such as the Cerrado and the Pantanal.

The meeting also reinforces commitments established in international frameworks, such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and national frameworks, such as the update of Brazil's NDC in 2024, which expanded cooperation between the federal government, states, and municipalities to reduce emissions and strengthen environmental policies.

Check out the schedule:

October 22nd, Wednesday 

Opening Ceremony – 10:00 – 11:00

Participants:

• Adriane Lopes, Mayor of Campo Grande

• Vivina Dias Sol Queiroz, Vice-Rector for Citizenship and Sustainability at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul
• Arthur Falcette, Deputy Secretary of Environment, Development, Science, Technology and Innovation of Mato Grosso do Sul
• Berenice Domingues, CEO of PLANURB Campo Grande

• Ademar Silva Junior, Municipal Secretariat for the Environment, Urban Management, and Economic, Tourism, and Sustainable Development (Semades) of Campo Grande

• Rodrigo Perpétuo, Executive Secretary of ICLEI South America

Keynote Address | Initial Results of the Resilient Green Cities Program: Building the Urban Future of the Midwest – 11:00 – 12:00

Participants: 

• Mauricio Guerra, Director of Urban Environment at the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Change

Climate Action in the Brazilian Midwest: The Role of Federalism and Multilevel Coordination – 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM

Participants:

• Ana Cristina Trevelin, Superintendent of Environmental Asset Management, at the Executive Secretariat for the Environment of the Secretariat for the Environment, Development, Science, Technology and Innovation of Mato Grosso do Sul
• Berenice Domingues, CEO of PLANURB Campo Grande
• John Vicente Leitão, Secretary of Urban Planning and Environment of Fortaleza
• Vitor Gonçalves Faria, Technical Analyst at Sebrae/MS

COP 30: Urban Planning as a Tool for Building Sustainable Cities – 16:00 – 17:30

Participants:

• Mariana Massud, Executive Director of PLANURB Campo Grande
• Paula Zacarias, Program Coordinator for UN-Habitat in Brazil
• Rodrigo Corradi, Deputy Executive Secretary of ICLEI South America

• Marina Guimarães Paes de Barros, Partner at the Myr Group

• Charis Guernieri, Vice-President of the Council of Architecture and Urbanism of Mato Grosso do Sul (CAU MS)

• Silvia Rahe Pereira, Environmental Tax Auditor at the Municipal Secretariat for the Environment, Urban Management, and Economic, Tourism, and Sustainable Development (Semades) of Campo Grande

October 23rd, Thursday

Carbon Market and Green Innovation: Opportunities for the Midwest – 09:00 – 10:30

Participants:

• Rodrigo Corradi, Executive Director of ICLEI Brazil
• Fabio Bolzan, Superintendent of Climate Change at Semadesc
• Carlos Eduardo Benfica, SBN Specialist at WayCarbon

• André Borges de Araújo, President Director of the Mato Grosso do Sul Environmental Institute 

• Luiz Veronezi, Community Farmer Manager at InPlanet

Wildfires and Extreme Heat: Challenges to the Sustainability of Life in the Cerrado and Pantanal – 11:00 – 12:30

Participants:

• Vitor Leal Pinheiro, Climate Manager, UNEP Brazil
• Waleska Teixeira Caiaffa, physician, full professor of epidemiology and public health at the Faculty of Medicine of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG)
• Fabio Bolzan, Superintendent of Climate Change at Semadesc 
• Leonardo Gomes, Executive Director SOS Pantanal

Agribusiness and Food Systems as Key Players in Climate Adaptation and Mitigation – 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM

Participants:

• Roberta Curan, Intelligence Manager at the Food of Tomorrow Institute
• Oto Candido, Technical Advisor for the Municipal Secretariat of Environment, Urban Management and Economic, Tourism and Sustainable Development (SEMADES) of Campo Grande
• Maira Colares, Head of Institutional Relations and Communication at NetZero
• Ana Beatriz Paiva Sá Earp de Melo, Technical staff of the Federation of Agriculture and Livestock of Mato Grosso do Sul
• Roberto Asfora Filho, City councilor of Brejo da Madre de Deus

COP15 on Migratory Species and the Urban Biodiversity Agenda: Connecting Nature, Climate and Cities – 16:00 – 17:30

Participants:

• Rodrigo Corradi, Deputy Executive Secretary of ICLEI South America and Director of ICLEI Brazil
• Neiva MR Guedes, President of the Blue Macaw Institute and Coordinator of the Blue Macaw Project and the Urban Birds Project – Macaws in the City in Campo Grande, and acting president of CRBio-01.
• Vivina Dias Sol Queiroz, Vice-Rector for Citizenship and Sustainability at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul
• Mayor of São Lourenço do Sul, Zelmute Marten
• Cyntia Santos, Conservation and Facilitation for the Pantanal Biome at WWF – Brazil in Campo Grande

October 24th, Friday

Technical Visit – 10:00 – 12:00

Location: Bioparque Pantanal – Av. Afonso Pena, 6277 – Campo Grande (MS) – All spots filled.

About the ICLEI Brazil Meetings

The Regional Meetings aim to promote the exchange of experiences, disseminate best practices, and highlight the contribution of subnational governments in addressing the climate emergency. The agenda aligns with ICLEI's five strategic pathways: zero-carbon, resilient, nature-based, circular, balanced, and people-centered cities.

With the 1st Central-West Meeting, ICLEI Brazil reinforces its role as a facilitator, bringing together municipalities, states and strategic partners and preparing the cities of the region to position themselves as protagonists at COP30.

The 1st Central-West Meeting of ICLEI Brazil is an initiative of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the Municipality of Campo Grande, and the State Secretariat for the Environment, Development, Science, Technology and Innovation of Mato Grosso do Sul, and is part of the global Town Hall COP 30 initiative. The event has the institutional support of the Ministry of Cities and the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, and ICLEI partners for 2025: MRV and NetZero. Other institutional supporters of the initiative include: CDP, Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030), the Brazilian Association of Municipalities (ABM), the Brazilian Development Association (ABDE), and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy (GCoM). Furthermore, the event has the support of the Brazilian Service for Support to Micro and Small Businesses of Mato Grosso do Sul (Sebrae MS), the SENAI Construction College, the Institute for Support to Industry of Mato Grosso do Sul (Prodesenvolve), and the Foundation for Support to the Development of Education, Science and Technology of the State of Mato Grosso do Sul (FUNTER).