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HCIAS Blogcast: Júlia Mascarello on the COP30 in Brazil

In this episode of the HCIAS Podcast, Luis Pesce and Maike Schüler interview Dr. Júlia Mascarello, General Coordinator for Productive Structure and Sustainability in Brazil’s Ministry of Finance and former visiting doctoral researcher at the HCIAS. They discuss the importance of the “Belém Package”, the leadership of the Brazilian Ministry of Finance in integrating bioeconomy, social justice and innovative climate finance into the global development agenda, as well as the importance of North-South cooperation that prioritizes technological autonomy and predictable funding for developing nations.

Photo Credit: Júlia Mascarello.

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Luis: Welcome to the latest episode of HCIAS Podcast. Today, I, Luis Pesce, and my colleague, Maike Schüler, are interviewing Dr. Júlia Mascarello on the results of the COP30 meeting that took place in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025.

Dr. Júlia Mascarello serves as the General Coordinator for Productive Structure and Sustainability in the Subsecretariat for Sustainable Economic Development, which is part of the Ministry of Finance of the Brazilian government. The Subsecretariat is responsible for developing and implementing public policies and financial instruments related to the ecological transition.

Dr. Mascarello holds a master’s degree and a PhD in International Relations from the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Brazil. Part of her doctoral research was conducted at Heidelberg University, where she was affiliated with the HCIAS and with the Heidelberg Center for the Environment (HCE). Her doctoral research focused on the scientific cooperation between Brazil and Germany regarding bioeconomy and inequalities in North-South scientific relations. Welcome, Dr. Mascarello. Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us.

Júlia: It is a pleasure for me to join this podcast with you guys. I am happy to contribute with the perspective of the Ministry of Finance on the results of COP30 in Belém. This COP also connects deeply with my research trajectory on bioeconomy, international cooperation and inequality.

This edition of COP30 was historic not only because it took place in the Amazon, but also because it reframed the climate debate through a broader lens of development, justice, and economic transformation. At the Ministry of Finance, we launched the Ecological Transformation Plan in 2023 at the beginning of President Lula’s administration. Its objective is to build a new low-carbon economy driven by science, technology, and innovation that is grounded in environmental sustainability, climate responsibility, and social justice. It is structured around six pillars: Sustainable finance, technological upgrading, bio-economy and agri-food systems, circular economy, energy transition, and green infrastructure and adaptation. I am responsible for overseeing the bioeconomy agenda and the development of low-carbon industry policy.

Luis: What were the key results that set the COP30 in Belém from other editions of this conference?

Júlia: Not only were there were good results, but also it took place in a democratic country with peaceful demonstrations, strong indigenous participation, and an unprecedented dialogue with civil society through the Presidency Briefs. At the same time, it happened in a tense geopolitical environment marked by conflict, economic rivalries, and a broader crisis of multilateralism. In this context, Brazil reaffirms its traditional diplomatic role as a bridge builder and a mediator. Our diplomatic team was very successful on that front.

Maike: What are the key priorities and initiatives that the Circle of Finance Ministers set during the conference?

Júlia: The Ministry of Finance led the Circle of Finance Ministries, which is a coalition inspired by Brazil’s leadership during the G20 presidency in 2024 that was created to unlock, scale, and direct global climate finance by aligning fiscal policy, development strategies, and climate goals. The mission is to drive reforms, enhance international coordination, and strengthen financial instruments so that the climate commitments we are taking can be effectively implemented.

The priorities of the Circle of Finance Ministries are basically five: First is to scale up concessional finance and strengthen climate funds, which means increasing resources with better terms, simplifying access, accelerating disbursements for vulnerable countries, and reinforcing some international funds. Second is the reform and expansion of the work of multilateral development banks to boost planning capacity, improve climate risk management, and integrate climate into all operations with greater coordination and agility. Third would be to strengthen domestic capacity and the country platforms, which means supporting the developing countries plan, mobilizing, and implementing climate investments with strong governance, project preparation, and predictability. Fourth is to mobilize private capital at scale, which means creating regulatory environments and risk-mitigation tools that attract private investment for mitigation and adaptation projects. Finally, number five is to advance sustainable finance regulation by improving supervision, climate disclosure, taxonomies, and the integrity of carbon markets to enhance confidence and reduce risk.

Among the concrete initiatives advanced by the Circle of Finance Ministries was the launch of the Coalition of Carbon Markets, which brings together major markets such as China and the European Union. Additionally, the new capital mobilized for the Tropical Forests Forever Facility (TFFF) has reached US$6.7 billion so far. We have the goal of reaching US$10 billion dollars by the end of Brazil’s COP presidency.

Luis: How will the lack of an agreement on a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels and the pushback of adaptation finance targets to 2035 affect the achievement of the COP30’s climate goals?

Júlia: Some omissions were significant. The absence of a formal roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels and the postponement of adaptation finance targets to 2035 are gaps that can directly undermine the credibility of the climate regime. Without addressing fossil fuels as a structural cause of climate change, we shift the burden onto countries that have contributed the least to that problem yet continue to suffer the most severe impacts of climate change, so it is absolutely a challenge.

Maike: What are the main challenges and opportunities brought by the Bioeconomy Challenge platform launched by the Brazilian government during COP30?

Júlia: We were very happy to launch the Bioeconomy Challenge, which is part of the Objective 29 of the COP 30 Action Agenda and focuses on bioeconomy and biotechnology. The challenge is grounded in the global bioeconomy principles launched during the G20 Presidency of Brazil, and it is a means of implementing that agenda in key areas to structure bioeconomy worldwide without limiting development in the domestic space. Basically, international institutions will coordinate working groups in some specific areas such as developing common metrics to measure bioeconomy impact, expanding innovative financing instruments and reducing investment risks, developing bioeconomy markets aligned with planetary boundaries, and strengthening tools and frameworks that maximize benefits for communities and territories. The Bioeconomy Challenge also opens space for broad participation so not only governments, but also academia, and representatives of the private sector and civil society participate around the shared vision of a global bioeconomy.

Nevertheless, it also brings some challenges. One of them is ensuring that global standardization respects local bioeconomies and benefits countries equitably. That measurement system must also be aligned with the G20 principles and avoid reinforcing asymmetries. To achieve that, we advocate for a Global South-led process with inclusive governance, fair benefit sharing, and safeguards to prevent knowledge extractivism. Bioeconomy also needs to serve as a tool to reduce structural inequalities instead of reproducing them.

Maike: One of the key expectations for the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF) initiative is to mobilize funds to conserve existing forests. How will this initiative contribute to stop and reverse nature loss?

Júlia: The launch of the TFFF has become a major priority for the Ministry of Finance. Its core idea is that countries that maintain standing forests should be compensated to prevent deforestation. For tropical countries, the TFFF offers long-term structured resources and reduces dependence on volatile donations and fragmented voluntary carbon markets. Additionally, investors receive financial returns, so it is not merely about donations but an innovative instrument to conserve and preserve forests. About 20% of all financial returns must go directly to indigenous and local communities who are the ones that preserve territories for the most part.

Maike: What implications does the lack of a roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels have for North-South cooperation?

Júlia: The lack of a fossil fuel transition roadmap created a clear tension in North-South relations. Instead of binding commitments from high-emitting countries, responsibilities are shifting toward developing countries. Those countries are being asked to offset global emissions while simultaneously dealing with escalating losses and damages. That imbalance pushes developing nations to find solutions to the consequences of climate change, but the priority should be financing the elimination of the causes of climate change.

Luis: One of the key results was a commitment to mobilize about $1.3 trillion per year for climate action and to triple the funding for climate change adaptation by 2035. What implications does that commitment carry for developing nations that need to access those funds?

Júlia: Mobilizing US$1.3 trillion per year by 2035 and tripling adaptation finance are significant results. Nevertheless, the core issue for developing countries is still access to those funds. The question is how to translate those figures into usable financing. In that regard, at the Ministry of Finance, we think certain elements are crucial. Firstly, without low-cost instruments, vulnerable countries face fiscal risks instead of transformative investments, so we need to increase concessional finance. Secondly, the current access processes are overly bureaucratic, so simplification is important because when we apply for international funds, implementation takes a long time. Third is predictability. Without clear financial horizons, no country can plan its transition, so we need to have long-term financial instruments. The finance pledge exists, but the challenge lies on how to operationalize it.

Maike: What are the key impact expectations of the sociobioeconomy model championed by the Brazilian government?

Júlia: We have been working on this model since the G20 Brazilian presidency. It offers an alternative development path, and Global South countries can find an important role and opportunity in it. The sociobioeconomy model brings together forest conservation, sustainable use, traditional knowledge, and inclusive growth, thus breaking the historical assumption that development requires environmental degradation. The model can create new markets, strengthen local productive systems, and build economic resilience specifically in Amazonian communities.

Its replicability elsewhere depends on state capacity, legal frameworks, and context. Many Global South countries face institutional fragility that can limit benefit-sharing and protection of traditional knowledge, for instance, so legal frameworks and state capacity to achieve replicability need to be strengthened.

Maike: Julia, thank you so much for your generosity and expertise in discussing your perspectives of the results of the COP30. To our audience, thank you so much for tuning in and making us part of your day. We will be back soon with another exciting episode of the HCIAS Podcast.

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Dr. Júlia Mascarello serves as the General Coordinator for Productive Structure and Sustainability in the Subsecretariat for Sustainable Economic Development, which is part of the Secretariat for Economic Policy at the Ministry of Finance of the Brazilian government. Part of her doctoral research on the scientific cooperation between Brazil and Germany regarding bio economy and inequalities in North-South scientific Relations was conducted at Heidelberg University, where she was affiliated with the HCIAS and the Heidelberg Center for the Environment (HCE).

Luis Pesce is a doctoral researcher in political science and member of the research group “Communication and Society in Ibero-America” at the HCIAS, where he researches topics of violence against journalists and communicators in Mexico.

Maike Schüler is student of the HCIAS MA program “Communication and Society in Ibero-America”. She is also part of the HCIAS communications and marketing team.


The text only may be used under licence Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 International. All other elements (illustrations, imported files) are “All rights reserved”, unless otherwise stated.


OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
HCIAS Blog, Luis Pesce (March 31, 2026). HCIAS Blogcast: Júlia Mascarello on the COP30 in Brazil. HCIAS Blog. Retrieved April 20, 2026 from https://doi.org/10.58079/15z8t


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