Sustainability Manager at aliveMs. Joannes Ribas made an appeal to the private sector during a panel discussion entitled “Telecommunications as a pillar of resilience: The impact of telecommunications networks on climate emergency management”, held on Thursday, the 13th, in the Brazil Pavilion, in the COP30 Green Zone.
“the alive Many measures have been taken to reduce the impact of climate change. But I wanted to leave a message that goes beyond our sector. We are in COP week, where all countries are discussing their goals and reviews. It’s really the Conference of the Parties, the Conference of the Parties in implementation, and I wanted to put out a call to the private sector to reassess its goals, the 2040 and 2050 goals. Is this the deadline the planet is calling for? “Isn’t it time to review, to have a more ambitious goal?” asked Joannis.
She stressed that commitment to the climate agenda must go beyond companies themselves, to reach the entire value chain. “I want to make this appeal not only to our sector, but also to companies to look at their value chain, because the biggest challenge is there: in the biggest emissions. All sectors face this as a challenge: how to strengthen this chain together, how to bring it together,” he said.
“I believe it is time for implementation and review of the targets and for the private sector to make an increasing difference. It is a responsibility that must be shared and accelerated. We cannot have targets in 2050 and 2040, these targets are here now. We need to mobilize all sectors.”
The committee is led by alivewas one of 12 proposals selected from 1,270 proposals submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change. The discussion was also attended by scientist Carlos Nobre, co-chair of Amazon’s scientific committee; Rio Grande do Sul’s Minister of Environment and Infrastructure, Marjorie Kaufman; Cetesb CEO Tomaz Toledo; Cemaden’s replacement manager, Pedro Ivo Camarinha; and Director of Sustainable Finance at Telefónica, Laura Fernández Cavas. The moderation was led by Melina Amoni, Director of Climate Risk and Adaptation at WayCarbon.
Communications as a tool for responding to climate emergencies
Guests stressed that strengthening communications is essential to save lives, ensure community resilience and improve warning systems amidst increasing climate change. boss alive He stressed that communication plays a direct role in the safety of residents in extreme events. “We have to prepare our operations more and more to work faster and for the system to continue to connect people.”
Carlos Nobre stressed that Brazil is experiencing the “largest climate emergency in history” and defended the acceleration of mitigation measures. “It is necessary for the entire economic system to follow this path. We have to accelerate the cuts more than necessary,” he said.
He also noted the creation of Simadine (National Center for Monitoring and Warning of Natural Disasters), after the 2011 tragedy in the mountainous region of Rio de Janeiro that left more than 900 people dead. “At that time, many countries already had mobile phone alert systems,” he said. “I tried to convince the Civil Defense that when Simadine started working, it was necessary to alert all Brazilians. Simadin already issues alerts days in advance, but there are still cases where these warnings are ignored.”
Cemaden is an institution linked to the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) responsible for monitoring, warning and prevention of natural disasters in Brazil, such as floods, floods and landslides. Deputy Director of the Monitoring Center, Pedro Evo Camarena, stressed the importance of integrating efforts between agencies and adapting communications to the different realities in the country. According to him, Simaden transforms information into intelligent systems to transform complex data into clear alerts for the population.
“Communication is an essential pillar for getting messages across in an appropriate, transparent and understandable way, taking into account the different asymmetries in Brazil,” he explained.
Telefônica’s Director of Sustainable Finance, Laura Fernández Cavas, also defended the warning system, drawing attention to the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. “Climate events are so extreme that we need to use science and data to anticipate and mitigate risks,” he said. She called for governments and companies to invest in technological tools that facilitate the operation of warning and rapid response systems.
Regarding the role of environmental monitoring in emergency preparedness, Tomás Toledo, CEO of Companhia Ambiental do Estado de São Paulo (Cetesb), stated that with climate change, the body is increasingly required to be faster and more resilient. He explained that Citisp is working on developing a platform based on satellite images to monitor danger areas and facilitate inspection of these areas. “Cetesb has a large data reception network and has created a department focused on this, specifically to transform information into action and support decision-making during extreme events,” he explained.
During the panel’s mediation, WayCarbon’s Director of Climate Risk and Adaptation, Melina Amoni, emphasized, as did other experts, the importance of training residents who receive alerts, so they can understand the importance of these messages and know how to act on them.
Vivo’s actions towards sustainability
During the session, Joannes Ribas highlighted how alive It works to promote sustainability in its business. She recalled that the company affiliated with the Telefonica Group has more than 83 million homes covered by fiber optics and thousands of employees work in the 18 countries in which it operates. “The sustainability pillar is one that we monitor and promote within the company,” he said. I highlighted that alive It has played a leading role on this journey since 2015, when it began setting emissions reduction targets, which have been introduced over the years.
He explained: “Since 2019, we have offset 100% of the emissions that we could not avoid, and in 2023, we have reached the historic maximum, according to the science. What the science says is that the private sector must reduce its emissions by up to 90%, and we have reached this milestone. We have maintained the reductions since December 2023, and we are committed to maintaining these reductions not only through our operations, but also through our value chain.”
This is because, according to the sustainability manager, the effort also extends to suppliers. “Today, all suppliers are in alive It is included in this trip. When we started the project, only 30% of them had any climate commitment. Now, 87% are already committed to climate, and our goal is that by 2035 everyone will reduce 90% of their emissions.
Joannes also pointed out Living Future Meetingwas promoted in São Paulo this year, when it became the first company in this sector, in Latin America, to commit to the Amazon region. With the project Living forest of the futureThe company is committed to protecting and regenerating an area of 800 hectares. “It is a commitment to protection and regeneration: it will take 30 years to protect one of our largest biomes, the forest,” he added.
*The reporter traveled at the invitation of Motiva, the founder of the Alliance to Decarbonize Transportation
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