COP30

Bringing citizens to the heart of climate negotiations

Beyond Belém

Belém marked the moment the Global Mutirão came to life. A collective effort linking citizens, movements and institutions in a shared commitment to climate action. For the Global Citizens’ Assembly and its partners, this is the moment when people in the lead becomes a lasting principle for how global decisions are made.

The journey now moves from Belém towards COP31 in Antalya. In the year ahead, the emerging institution will connect communities, inform policy, and show that legitimacy begins with people, not only at the COPs, but wherever decisions take root.

People in the lead for climate action

Under COP30's leadership, people participation is moving to the centre of the global climate agenda — not as an add-on, but as a core principle for how decisions are shaped in the years ahead.

Real climate action must be co-created and rooted in people’s lived experience. Around the world, this is already happening: Indigenous communities safeguarding ecosystems, youth movements demanding justice, and local groups hosting assemblies on issues that shape daily life.

The Global Citizens’ Assembly is helping connect these efforts. Over the past year, it has evolved into a living architecture of participation: from the beta launch of Assemblis and dozens of local conversations, to the COP30 Presidency’s launch of the Citizens’ Track, and the start of the 105-member Civic Assembly on food and climate.

As we move beyond Belém, the momentum is clear: people are in the lead. The task now is to deepen this collaboration and show how global decisions are strengthened when they are informed by communities everywhere.

What we’re working towards

The People’s COP

Keep growing the Global Mutirão for climate action, where people everywhere take part in assemblies, dialogues, and real, hands-on change across their communities.

Strengthen COP's outcomes

Bring citizens’ voices into the heart of every COP so decisions reflect shared priorities and the realities of those most affected by the climate crisis.

A living legacy

Establish foundations for a lasting global citizens’ institution. A space where humanity’s voice can guide climate decisions beyond the COPs, in the communities and systems that shape our future.

Without legitimacy, there is no lasting climate action. Citizens’ assemblies are one of the most promising ways to rebuild trust between people and politics — and to create climate decisions that endure.

Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation and key architect of the Paris Agreement.

The journey from Belém to Antalya

From Bonn to New York — and now Belém — a global movement has been quietly gathering pace, bringing together people and partners who believe participation must be a permanent part of climate governance. What began as ideas and early prototypes has become real: a living Mutirão for people and planet.

The journey now continues from Belém to Antalya. Over the next year, the Global Citizens’ Assembly and its partners will deepen local-to-global participation, expand community assemblies through Assemblis, and deliver critical recommendations on food and climate.

This is our path towards COP31: ensuring that citizen voices not only enter the process, but help shape the decisions the world will take in 2026.

People in the Lead: A Citizens’ Track for climate governance

Launched during New York Climate Week, the policy paper People in the Lead, co-authored by Iswe Foundation and partners, set out a bold vision for embedding a Citizens’ Track within the UNFCCC process. At a roundtable hosted by Sandrine Dixson-Declève and Marcele Oliveira, partners including Socratus and People Powered, alongside guests from WRI, ECF, CECG, OECD, and the COP29 Presidency, explored how citizen participation can become a lasting pillar of global climate governance.

Listen to Tulio Andrade below or hear the team speak about the Global Citizens’ Assembly here.

New York Climate Week 2025

At New York Climate Week, citizen participation took centre stage. The Global Citizens’ Assembly joined a vibrant line-up of partners and movements — from the Street Works climate arts festival in Queens to a live mock assembly at the American Museum of Natural History. Across the city, organisers, scientists, and youth activists echoed the same call: real climate action starts with people, not behind closed doors.

London Climate Action Week 2025

In London, Iswe and partners brought together champions from government, philanthropy, and movements, including Rachel Kyte, Mary Robinson, Farhana Yamin, Nick Mabey, and Marcele Oliveira, to ask how deliberative democracy can become a permanent force in climate governance. The message was clear: deliberation must move from the margins to the mainstream, and citizens must have a lasting seat at the table.

Intersessionals in Bonn 2025

At the UN Climate Meetings in Bonn, the Brazilian COP30 Presidency, led by Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago and Marcele Oliveira (Youth Climate Champion), announced Assemblis, the digital platform developed by the Global Citizens’ Assembly and partners, as a core tool for Brazil’s Global Mutirão. Assemblis enables anyone, anywhere to host, join, and connect their assemblies to COP30, making people’s leadership visible in global climate action.

New York Climate Week 2024

At New York Climate Week 2024, the Coalition for a Global Citizens’ Assembly was officially launched. Hosted by Iswe Foundation, the Climate Emergency Collaboration Group, and the New York Society for Ethical Culture, with support from the Government of Brazil, the Wellcome Trust, and Avaaz. Ana Toni, Laurence Tubiana, Abdalah Mokssit, Sandrine Dixson-Declève, and Ralph Regenvanu joined others in calling for citizens to have a lasting voice in global climate governance.