Public Services International (PSI) organised a delegation of 14 trade union leaders from seven Brazilian affiliates to participate in COP30, held in Belém, Pará, from 12 to 17 November. The delegation included representatives from CONFETAM, SindSaúde-SP, SISMUC, FETRAM-SC, MOVA-SE-CE, AFUSE and SINDIUPES, with the support from PSI’s European affiliates through Visión and Union to Union.

PSI affiliates took part in COP30 activities and in the People’s Summit, a key space for coordination among social, environmental and trade union movements. They participated in debates on climate change and the world of work, climate adaptation in Amazonian territories, renewable energy impacts, and trade union strategies for a just transition. The defence of strong public services emerged as a central political message across these spaces.

As a result, the Final Declaration of the People’s Summit strongly condemned the privatisation and financialisation of public services, stating that these processes “run entirely counter to popular interests” and calling for public policies to strengthen the role of the State and confront privatisations.

Furthermore, women trade unionists played a key role in advancing a gender perspective on the climate crisis. Maria Ozaneide de Paulo, from the National Confederation of Municipal Public Service Workers (Confetam), highlighted that women are among those most affected by environmental impacts and stressed the importance of the People’s Summit as a space where voices from different territories were heard. “An important space for dialogue among all peoples was the People’s Summit, which promoted deep debates on the climate crisis and the defence of land and life. But it was women who placed the debate on climate from a gender perspective on the COP30 agenda, considering that in all environmental impacts across diverse territories, women are the most affected,” said the trade union leader.

Bringing the trade union perspective to the People’s Summit, the Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT) organised the seminar “Strong Public Services, Protected Environment: No to the Administrative Reform!”, denouncing the impacts of Brazil’s proposed administrative reform on workers’ rights and environmental protection, where, Jucélia Vargas, President of National Confederation of Municipal Public Service Workers (Confetam), underscored the strength of collective action.

PSI affiliate SindSaúde/SP highlighted the link between the climate crisis and public health. Mauri Bezerra dos Santos Filho stressed that global warming worsens diseases and intensifies pressure on health systems, reinforcing the need to defend Brazil’s Unified Health System (SUS) as a strategic response to climate impacts.

He also noted the limited presence of health issues in the official COP agenda, particularly in the Blue and Green Zones, compared to the People’s Summit, where discussions were more closely connected to local realities and the lived experiences of affected communities.

PSI affiliates also joined the Climate March alongside trade unions and social movements, reaffirming that environmental protection, workers’ rights and quality public services are interconnected struggles.

While civil society mobilisation was strong, COP30 concluded without advancing concrete solutions to the main drivers of the climate crisis, particularly fossil fuel burning and environmental destruction. For PSI and its affiliates, the priority remains to strengthen trade union action for climate justice, public services and a just transition.