Rio de Janeiro, Global Citizen and Re:wild Announce Rio Nature & Climate Week

New York, September 27th, 2025 // In a major step to reshape the global climate agenda, the City of Rio de Janeiro, Global Citizen, Re:wild, and local partners today announced a five-year partnership and the launch of the Rio Nature & Climate Week, the first international event to bring together cross-sector discussions about the interrelated climate and biodiversity crises.

The gathering will take place in Rio de Janeiro from June 1–6, 2026, returning the Global South to the forefront of advancing dialogue around nature-based solutions to our connected planetary crises.

The week-long program will combine a curated core agenda led by organizers with dozens of independently hosted sessions across Rio, creating a citywide platform for dialogue and action. The initiative aims to strengthen the leadership role Rio has played since hosting the original Earth Summit that gave birth to the UN climate and biodiversity conventions that set international goals for planetary health in 1992.

The initiative, which was announced during the Global Citizen Festival in New York, is part of a broader strategy for the City of Rio to step up its efforts to protect the planet. The city has also pledged to produce 30,000 seedlings, beginning in 2026, and to plant 80,000 trees by 2028, with the goal of revitalizing the city’s most vulnerable areas.

“Global Citizen has long believed in the power of cities to lead the way on climate and sustainability. Rio’s decision to partner with us and Re:wild reflects both its ambition and its responsibility to future generations,” said Michael Sheldrick, Co-Founder & Chief Policy, Impact, and Government Relations Officer, Global Citizen. “Together, we want Rio Nature & Climate Week to become a platform that mobilizes global leaders, local communities, businesses, and citizens everywhere to act with urgency on the climate crisis.”

“There is no viable climate solution without nature. By hosting Rio Nature & Climate Week, the City of Rio is embracing its legacy and taking bold new steps to protect the planet’s most vital ecosystems,” said Wes Sechrest, CEO and Co-Founder of Re:wild. “This is more than a summit – it’s a powerful call to action to put biodiversity and Indigenous people and local communities at the heart of global climate strategies.”

The Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, added: “Rio is proud to play a leading role in building a sustainable future. By joining forces with Global Citizen and Re:wild, we further strengthen our city’s environmental commitments and hope to inspire other cities around the world to act boldly.”

Eduardo Cavaliere, Vice-Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, said: "The Rio Nature and Climate Week will be a major event for Rio de Janeiro, a city at the forefront of sustainable and resilient solutions. The partnership with Global Citizen and Re:wild reinforces our role as an international protagonist in the face of the climate crisis."

With Global Citizen at its core, Rio Nature & Climate Week positions Rio de Janeiro as a global stage for urgent climate and biodiversity action—and as a rallying point for the Global South to shape the future of the planet.

Unlike the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity, which focus separately on climate change and biodiversity loss, respectively, this meeting will return the Global South to the forefront of advancing nature-based solutions. This will address both connected planetary crises.

For more information, visit globalcitizen.org, download the Global Citizen app, and follow Global Citizen on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, X and LinkedIn.

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