Bringing citizens to the heart of climate negotiations

Road to Belém: Citizens in the lead for climate action

The countdown is on. In just days, Belém will open its doors to the world, and with it, The People’s COP30 will begin.

Real climate action cannot happen in isolation. It must be co-created, connected, and grounded in people’s realities. Across continents, citizens are already leading: Indigenous peoples protecting biodiversity, youth movements demanding justice, and communities shaping adaptation and resilience.

The Global Citizens’ Assembly acts as the connective tissue linking these efforts. A living architecture of participation that brings citizens’ voices into the heart of global climate governance.

As Brazil prepares to host COP30, the world stands at a turning point. Belém offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make citizen participation a permanent feature in climate governance.

The journey to Belém

From New York to London to Bonn, a global movement has been gathering pace, people and partners working together to make participation a permanent part of climate governance. What began as ideas and prototypes is now becoming real: a living mutirão for people and planet.

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.