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COP30 Dialogues: Interview with Joara Marchezini

In the last interview of the special series “COP30 Dialogues: Digital Rights and Climate Justice”, we speak with Joara Marchezini, a journalist and project officer at the Nupef Institute, where she has worked for more than 20 years at the intersection of human rights, technology, and environmental issues.
Joara is also one of the six elected public representatives in the Escazú Agreement, an international treaty on access to information, public participation, and access to justice in environmental matters.

In this conversation, she reflects on the importance of connecting digital rights and environmental protection, the challenges in safeguarding environmental human rights defenders, the urgent need for digital literacy and connectivity in Amazonian and peripheral regions, and her expectations for COP30, the first UN Climate Conference to be held in an Amazonian country.

Data: To begin, tell us a little about your work and about the Nupef Institute.

Joara: I am Joara Marchezini and I work at the Nupef Institute, with more than 20 years of experience working at the intersection of human rights and information and communication technologies. We focus on how these technologies can support community resilience and advocacy processes in defense of environmental and human rights.

At Nupef, I am a project officer and work on both technical and management fronts, especially in projects involving access to information, the environment, and community networks, and also in matters related to the Escazú Agreement. My background is more focused on access to information and environmental issues. I am also one of the six elected public representatives in the Escazú Agreement, which deals with access to information, participation, and access to justice in environmental matters. That is the perspective I bring here.

Data: Can you explain what the Escazú Agreement is and why it matters?

Joara: The Escazú Agreement is a treaty on access to information, public participation, and access to justice on environmental matters. It is the first international agreement in the world with specific provisions for the protection of environmental human rights defenders.

It applies to Latin America and the Caribbean, and if I’m not mistaken, more than 17 or 18 countries have already ratified it. Brazil signed the agreement, but it still has not been ratified. The ratification has been stalled in Congress for more than two years, even though the rapporteur, Congressman Mandela from Amazonas, issued a favorable opinion. That’s the legal status today.

The movement in Brazil advocating for the Escazú Agreement includes organizations and individuals working to secure its ratification and increase awareness of the treaty, so more people can mobilize in its defense. We also work to ensure meaningful participation of Brazilian civil society in its governance mechanisms, which is unique — the agreement itself establishes participation channels, consistent with its core themes.

There are many intersections with digital rights. I would highlight three:

1. Protection of environmental defenders. Protection systems must consider both online and offline dimensions. People threatened in their territories are often digitally vulnerable too — through exposure of personal data or surveillance.

2. Infrastructure and connectivity. Internet access directly affects people’s ability to organize, advocate, and communicate. At Nupef, we work extensively with community networks, because connectivity is crucial for rights and resilience.

3. Information circulation. Participation processes — public consultations, hearings, policy documents — rely on digital platforms and digital literacy. Often, lack of access to information is less about the government not publishing it and more about communities being unable to access or interpret it, which fuels misinformation, especially in environmental matters.

Data: How do you see the relationship between digital rights and environmental rights?

Joara: From a human rights perspective, rights are interconnected and indivisible. Collaboration between these fields is the only way to respond to complex challenges.

Interdisciplinarity is essential. Professionals need to exchange knowledge and build joint responses. Sometimes, only through dialogue do we understand community realities or manage to reach them. And in the context of a climate emergency, this integration becomes even more urgent.

Data: And what about collaboration between legal and environmental fields?

Joara: It is increasingly necessary. We face shrinking resources — financial and human — so cooperation is crucial.

At the end of the day, everything is interconnected. If civil society, researchers, lawyers, and frontline communities work in isolation, we lose opportunities. We need alliances, especially in a political context where environmental protections are under attack.

Data: What challenges exist in this connection between digital and environmental agendas?

Joara: Digital rights are still hard to explain. People use platforms like Google or ChatGPT every day, but few understand the infrastructure, actors, or power structures behind them.

This creates distance. The field is very technical, and we sometimes fail to communicate outside our bubble. Digital literacy is still limited.

I often recall the early days of Brazil’s Access to Information Law. For years, it was difficult to explain. Then the issue of “100-year secrecy” came up, and suddenly people understood there was a law, deadlines, and mechanisms for transparency.

We need similar communication breakthroughs for digital rights — without jargon, reaching real people.

Data: And what does this mean in the lead-up to COP30?

Joara: COP30 being hosted in Brazil is a chance to broaden perspectives and bring new voices. But it requires going beyond traditional agendas.

We need to rethink how we ensure participation, transparency, and information flow. Publishing something online isn’t enough if the public cannot access or use it. Information must truly reach people.

Data: What are your expectations for COP30?

Joara: Expectations are high. It’s the first COP hosted in an Amazonian country — a historic moment for Latin America and the Caribbean.

But COPs are still very elitist. Participation requires resources, language skills, understanding of UN dynamics. We need to organize to make this opportunity count.

At the same time, Brazil faces setbacks — like the recent passage of the “Devastation Bill.” There are political tensions, and we even saw misogyny and racism publicly directed at the Minister of the Environment. These issues reveal structural barriers.

If Brazil wants to host a climate summit, it must lead by example. Ratifying the Escazú Agreement is essential.

Data: What issues will Nupef focus on at COP30?

Joara: Infrastructure for communication in the Amazon and remote regions. People often imagine the Amazon only as forest, but there are major cities and diverse ways of life. We need lasting, respectful digital infrastructure — not only emergency solutions like low-orbit satellites.

We also advocate for Escazú ratification and for rapid response systems for climate disasters. Communication networks play a key role in emergencies, which are becoming more frequent.

Data: Do you believe COP30 will achieve concrete results?

Joara: It’s hard to stay optimistic some days, but I believe in political processes. Dialogue with public authorities is necessary — and sometimes it is the fastest route.

Brazil has the chance to lead as a Global South country. We cannot host the first Amazonian COP with negative outcomes. This is a crucial moment for advances.

Data: What role do technologies play in climate justice?

Joara: Technology is not neutral. Choices around technology reflect what kind of society we want.

At Nupef, we prioritize sustainable, accessible, replicable technologies. Climate justice means remembering that the people most affected contributed the least to the crisis. Technology must reduce inequalities, not deepen them.

We need policies and solutions that genuinely serve communities, instead of reinforcing exclusion.

Data: Any final thoughts?

Joara: When we talk about environmental decisions, we talk about power.

Escazú is about ensuring people can access information, participate, and obtain justice. But participation requires infrastructure. It’s not enough to invite someone to a table that is already unequal, sexist, or inaccessible.

Technology should strengthen people and support their voices, especially those on the frontlines.

Data: Thank you, Joara.