Brazil can protect its forests while growing its economy, says Arapyaú’s Renata Piazzon

Brazil’s climate conversation has a habit of returning to the same question: how can a country that depends so much on its natural riches also protect them? Renata Piazzon, who leads the São Paulo–based Instituto Arapyaú, naturally straddles that line. A lawyer by training, she has become one of Brazil’s clearest voices for aligning conservation with development, arguing that the health of the forest and the well-being of those who live in it are inseparable.

Her path into climate work began early. Piazzon grew up watching her father travel to remote Amazonian communities as part of an NGO that worked with Indigenous peoples. She wanted to go along, but he refused—so she set out to make her own way there. After studying environmental law, she shifted from litigation to sustainability, a move she traces to a single moment: watching Christiana Figueres steer the Paris Agreement talks at COP21. “I thought, that’s what I want to do with my life,” she recalls.

At Arapyaú, founded 17 years ago by Brazilian entrepreneur Guilherme Leal, Piazzon oversees programs on climate, forests, and the bio-economy. The foundation was one of the first in Brazil to make climate its core mission, back when, she jokes, “the entire field could fit in a van.” Since then, a small circle of business leaders has grown into a network of perhaps a dozen or more philanthropists who see sustainability not as ideology but as good strategy. She works to draw them in from all sides of Brazil’s political spectrum, connecting climate to familiar causes like education and community development.

Her approach is practical rather than rhetorical. “We need structural change,” she says. That means weaving together philanthropy, academia, government, and the private sector to test ideas that can scale. One initiative, the Forest People Connection, aims to bring internet access to 8,000 communities—over a million people—across the Amazon basin. The premise is straightforward: improve access to health and education, make it easier for people to stay on their land, and deforestation will fall.

Arapyaú’s reach extends into data and finance too. Piazzon helped incubate MapBiomas, the Brazilian land-use monitoring network now used by banks and governments in 20 countries. “Many financial institutions won’t approve credit without checking if the area was deforested,” she says. It is a small example of how data, policy, and philanthropy can reinforce one another.

Looking ahead to COP30, which Brazil will host, Piazzon sees the summit less as a negotiation than as a showcase. “Almost everything that needed to be negotiated has been,” she says. What matters now is demonstrating that Brazil can lead the implementation phase—through energy transition, regenerative agriculture, the circular economy, and forest restoration. One in four agribusiness products in circulation in the world is Brazilian, she notes, many of them involving new techniques for soil carbon capture and agroforestry.

The shift from consensus to consent—a principle she champions—captures Arapyaú’s philosophy. In the institute’s coalitions, unanimity is not required, only trust. “You may not fully agree, but you trust others enough to move forward,” she says. That trust has helped its networks advance public-policy changes that once seemed impossible.

What gives her hope, she says, is not the global summits or financial commitments, but the people she works with. Small farmers in the Amazon and Atlantic Forests who plant cacao and earn half their income from it while keeping their trees standing. “Scale comes from many small actions,” she says.

In a country where environmental policy still swings with every election, Piazzon argues for making forest protection a state policy rather than a political one. If Brazil succeeds, it could yet prove that prosperity and preservation are not opposites but partners in the same future.

An interview with Renata Piazzon

Rhett Ayers Butler for Mongabay: You’ve worked across sustainability and philanthropy for many years. What first drew you into this field?

Renata Piazzon: My father ran an NGO and worked with Indigenous and remote communities in the Amazon for many years. I grew up watching him come and go, always curious about his work and asking to join those trips. Of course, as a child, I couldn’t. So I decided I’d do everything I could to go on my own one day. I studied environmental law and then shifted to climate and sustainability more than ten years ago.

So, really, this interest has been part of my life since childhood—it was all around me growing up.

Mongabay: Was there a particular moment or experience that shaped your commitment to climate and nature-based solutions?

Renata Piazzon: I think I was very lucky because the first COP I attended was COP21—the Paris Agreement. I saw Christiana Figueres there, leading those negotiations, and I thought, That’s what I want to do with my life. That was the specific moment I decided I didn’t want to be an environmental lawyer anymore, I wanted to work in philanthropy and climate. Now, ten years later, that decision has shaped my path.

Mongabay: How has your perspective on what’s possible changed over time?

Renata Piazzon: Totally. When I started, my understanding of climate was mostly through an environmental lens, focused on preserving forests. Over time, that’s shifted. Now we put people at the center of the equation. We think about how to align climate and development, and how profit and forest conservation can coexist. It’s a very different approach from ten years ago: focusing on scalable, flexible solutions that conserve forests while improving lives.

Mongabay: How would you describe the evolution of Brazilian philanthropy since you began working in it?

Renata Piazzon: In the beginning, we were pretty much alone. Arapyaú was founded 17 years ago—one of the first Brazilian philanthropies dedicated to climate. Back then, we used to joke that the entire field could fit in a van or a minibus. Today, there are perhaps 10 to 15 business leaders really engaged in climate and sustainability, and that group is growing.

We’re seeing more alignment across sectors—not just from the left, but also from the center and center-right. What we try to do is connect climate to issues that Brazilian philanthropists traditionally support, like education. The community is expanding, and that’s very encouraging.

Mongabay: What role do you see for philanthropy in driving systemic change, especially when it comes to climate and social inclusion?

Renata Piazzon: We need structural change. That’s what we believe in—promoting, designing, and incubating initiatives that bring together philanthropy, academia, civil society, government, and the private sector to move faster.

Systemic change is now becoming part of Brazilian philanthropy’s strategy. For example, there’s a project called Forest People Connection, which aims to connect 8,000 communities in the Amazon—Indigenous, Black, and riverine communities—reaching over a million people. With better connectivity, they’ll have access to health and education, stay in their territories, and protect them. As a result, deforestation decreases. It’s a completely different funding approach—focusing on improving quality of life for forest communities, which in turn protects the forest.

Mongabay: In building these partnerships and networks, what’s been the most challenging part, and the most rewarding?

Renata Piazzon: The biggest challenge is finding agreement on controversial topics. That’s why we decided to move from consensus to consent. With consensus, you need everyone to agree 100%. But consent means you may not fully agree, yet you trust others enough to move forward.

That’s the principle guiding our Coalition for Climate, Forest, and Agriculture in Brazil, which brings together the private sector and environmental groups to promote change. It’s challenging, but it’s been successful—we’ve helped advance important public policies by adopting that mindset.

The most rewarding part is seeing the private sector move. I think many national commitments are underestimated—countries like China, for example, are doing more on the ground than their official targets suggest. The same goes for Brazil. We’re seeing real solutions emerging in energy, regenerative agriculture, and forest management. That’s incredibly rewarding because philanthropy helped prove those concepts and gave companies the confidence to scale them.

Mongabay: COP30 is about to begin in Belem. What are your hopes or expectations?

Renata Piazzon: First, I’d say I have no expectations about the negotiations—almost everything that needed to be negotiated has already been. This COP is about implementation.

My hope is that Brazil positions itself as a global hub for climate solutions—not just as a recipient of climate finance, but as a source of scalable solutions that can inspire the Global South. The Global South holds 70% of solar and wind potential, 50% of critical minerals, and much of the technology the world needs for decarbonization.

So, my hope is that this COP highlights implementation and showcases Brazil—and the Global South more broadly—as leaders in providing real, global solutions.

Mongabay: What does success at COP30 look like from your perspective?

Renata Piazzon: As I mentioned, I don’t think success will come from the negotiations themselves. Of course, there could be major announcements—like Brazil’s commitment of one billion dollars to the TFFF—and it would be great to see other countries moving in that same direction. But beyond that, success is about how Brazil positions itself: as a country already leading the transition, with mature solutions to showcase in energy, regenerative agriculture, the circular economy, and forest management.

Mongabay: Stepping back from COP for a moment, what do you see as the best opportunities for scaling nature-based or low-carbon solutions in Brazil?

Renata Piazzon: There are two main thematic areas under nature-based solutions that Brazilian philanthropy is really pushing forward: food systems and restoration.

Brazil is probably the most prominent global hub for forest restoration. We have major players like Re.green, Mombak, and Biomas, as well as investors like BTG Pactual and Patria—all already aligned and financing forest restoration in Brazil. It’s a huge opportunity for nature-based carbon capture at scale. Regulation of carbon markets is also critical to make that happen—and it’s moving forward here.

In food systems, one in four agribusiness products in circulation in the world is Brazilian. We’re leading in regenerative agriculture, with technologies that are more advanced than in many other countries. These two areas—forest restoration and regenerative agriculture, including soil carbon capture—are the leading fronts for nature-based solutions in Brazil and will be central to what we present at COP30.

Mongabay: Some new data just came out showing deforestation fell 11% last year in the Amazon. Of course, fires are a separate issue. How would you assess the current situation in the Amazon rainforest? What gives you hope, and what concerns you most?

Renata Piazzon: The drop in deforestation gives me a lot of hope. It fulfills a promise made by the federal government from the start. Brazil is showing that it’s possible to reduce deforestation and grow the economy at the same time. That’s exactly what’s happening now, and it’s very positive.

The challenge is sustaining this progress over the long term. In 2012, we had the lowest deforestation rate on record. Then the government changed, and rates went up again. Now they’re down once more. The question is: how do we make this a state policy, not just a four-year political cycle? That’s the key challenge for Brazil in the years ahead.

Mongabay: Arapyaú has been a key supporter of MapBiomas. How do you see data shaping environmental decision-making and accountability in Brazil? And beyond.

Renata Piazzon: MapBiomas is a great example. At Arapyaú, we specialize in incubating networks, and this was one of the first we helped establish. We were the first Brazilian philanthropy to back it, and it’s been a huge success.

It’s now a homegrown technology used in 20 countries. It shows how philanthropy can help develop local innovations that go global. In Brazil, MapBiomas is used not only by federal and state governments to monitor deforestation, but also by banks. Many financial institutions won’t approve credit without checking MapBiomas data to ensure the area hasn’t been deforested. It’s a great example of philanthropy, government, and the private and financial sectors working together—and of how data underpins real change.

Mongabay: You’re also a columnist. Why do you think communication is so central to advancing your agenda?

Renata Piazzon: Communication is absolutely core to it. I write for O Estado de S. Paulo, one of Brazil’s major newspapers, which is very effective—but we also need to go beyond that. The real challenge is translating climate into people’s everyday lives.

Branson once published a letter saying we need to connect climate to people’s lived experiences, and I fully agree. We must tell more stories—stories of people, stories of success—and talk about climate without always talking about climate. That means framing it in terms of prosperity, development, and quality of life.

So, communication isn’t just about visibility; it’s about translation—helping people see how climate action connects to their own wellbeing. That’s why using social media, news outlets, and every other platform available is so important.

Mongabay: My last question: what gives you hope?

Renata Piazzon: People. For the past 17 years, we’ve worked with smallholders in the Amazon and the Atlantic Forest who are transforming their lives through agroforestry systems.

For example, farmers planting cacao have seen a 50% increase ib their monthly income from it—while keeping their forests intact. That gives me hope. Seeing successful examples like that on the ground reminds me that scale comes from many small actions. Our territorial development strategy builds on those local successes, replicating them across regions. That, to me, is what hope looks like in practice.

Correction (11/5/25): Due to a transcription error, “projects” in the original has been changed to “products” in reference to Brazil’s agricultural prowess.

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Rhett Butler Editor

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