On September 24, 2026, the Lemann Center for Brazilian Studies and the Institute of Latin American Studies at Columbia University will convene Brazil Climate Futures, the inaugural edition of a new policy forum on Brazil, under the theme Brazil 2030: Visions of Prosperity in a Climate-Constrained World.

This forum takes up a question that is far from settled: what does prosperity mean for resource-rich countries in a climate-constrained world—and what does it mean for Brazil, whose wealth lies in agribusiness, oil and gas, and critical minerals

Bringing together scholars, policymakers, civil society, Indigenous leaders, and the private sector, the forum will put competing visions for Brazil’s development into direct conversation, examining the political choices, trade-offs, and interests behind each. The discussion will then be distilled into a concise policy paper outlining key choices for the decade ahead.

The program will open with a keynote framing these competing visions, followed by three sectoral panels: Agribusiness, Climate, and Global Markets; Oil and Brazil’s Energy Transition; and Critical Minerals and Industrial Transformation.

Event Schedule:

2:30 pm Opening Remarks

Opening | Visions for Brazil's Development: Competing pathways to prosperity in a climate-constrained world

Panel 1 | Agribusiness, Climate, and Global Markets: Food, energy, and a volatile climate: what is Brazil's role in the new global land-use agenda?

Panel 2 | Oil and Brazil’s Energy Transition: Can Brazil expand oil production while sustaining claim to leadership in the global energy transition?

Panel 3 | Critical Minerals and Industrial Transformation: Will critical minerals drive industrial upgrading - or another cycle of extractive development?

Closing | Pathways for Brazil's Climate Future

7:30 pm Cocktail Reception