Brazil protects children and teens from climate crisis
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Brazil’s Senate approved Project of Law 2.225/2024, known as the Environmental Child and Adolescent Statute, to guarantee children and adolescents’ right to a healthy environment and nature.
Federal Deputy Laura Carneiro proposed the law, and Senator Alessandro Vieira supported it before it moves to presidential sanction. The new statute prioritises children and teens in receiving support during socio-environmental and climate risks, ensuring access to healthy natural areas, free play, and nature-based education.
The law will change three existing national policies to include these protections. It adds the right of children to a balanced environment to the National Environmental Policy, establishes a duty for families and the state to ensure contact with nature in the Child and Adolescent Statute, and directs public power to prioritise reducing climate change impacts on young people within the National Policy on Climate Change. The legislation also expands the participation of children in disaster prevention and response policies.
The Instituto Alana, an organisation that advocated for the law’s passage, believes it is an important step toward guaranteeing children’s rights and strengthening climate adaptation policies. Tayanne Galeno of Instituto Alana stated the law will help prepare schools, cities, and regions for increasingly frequent extreme weather events.
The institute also highlighted the urgency of the law given the increasing frequency of extreme weather and the potential for a strong El Niño in 2026 and 2027, which could worsen wildfires and other disasters.
