Artificial intelligence has reached a critical inflection point, raising fundamental questions about safety, alignment, regulation, and the very future of humanity. Propelled by technical advances toward “superintelligence” through tools such as transformer architectures, reinforcement learning, and model distillation, the current moment in AI may contain…

The climate agenda has been gaining strength within BRICS since 2019. Initially marked by occasional mentions in political declarations, it gained new momentum with Brazil’s BRICS presidency in 2025 — the same year the country is also hosting COP30. In this context, cooperation has evolved…

Executive director Ilona Szabó’s talk on Civil Society Diplomacy is now featured on the TED website. Ilona is the founder and executive director of the Igarapé Institute, she presented her talk called “The Rise of Civil Society Diplomacy” at the TED Global 2014 conference in Rio de Janeiro….

At the close of the G20 Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in November 2024, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva proposed the creation of a new Climate Change Council. Rather than presenting a finalized proposal, the Brazilian government invited the international community to…

The defense of a renewed multilateralism has been reflected in various aspects of Igarapé’s work. Since 2020, we have been the only Brazilian organization directly supporting the UN Secretary-General in strengthening global cooperation. Through the Our Common Agenda initiative, which seeks to revitalize global governance…

  Brazil is preparing to host COP30 in Belém do Pará at a decisive moment for the climate and nature agenda. For the Igarapé Institute, holding the conference in Amazonian territory represents a unique opportunity to transform symbolism into action: to place the forest at…

In 2024, Brazil took a bold step toward cannabis reform. The country’s Supreme Federal Court ruled that adults can legally possess up to 40 grams of cannabis and cultivate six female plants for personal use. While this landmark decision doesn’t amount to full legalization, it…

In Brazil’s Yanomami Indigenous Territory and across other parts of the Amazon Basin, illegal gold mining has metastasized into a transnational criminal enterprise. What starts with illegal deforestation and mercury poisoning ends with laundered gold flowing into global supply chains. The trade finances organized crime, corrupt officials,…

Haiti is sliding into the abyss. Violence has intensified since the beginning of the year as gangs continued to overrun communities and paralyze basic services. The capital, Port-au-Prince, and several other cities are now largely controlled by powerful gang coalitions, most notably Viv Amsanm and Gran Grif. The country’s Transitional Presidential Council (TPC), formed with CARICOM over a year…

Earlier this month, Juliette Dorson, a 50-year-old Haitian caterer, was shot while working an event in Port-au-Prince. Her business partner, Luc, died in the attack. She survived, but barely. For residents of Haiti’s capital, such horrors are tragically routine. Gangs now control four-fifths of the city, wielding not…

The global development industry is facing a reckoning. Long reliant on Western donors, the sector is grappling with deep and sudden cuts to official development assistance. The crisis in aid affects tens of thousands of workers and service users with cascading effects on food security, poverty reduction, health and education provision,…

A world in crisis needs a functioning civil society. But today, three out of four people live under authoritarian regimes that are determined to stifle civil society – and even those in liberal democracies are witnessing alarming efforts to dismantle the sector. What should philanthropy do? A panel…

The Igarapé Institute´s newest report unveils BRICS’s potential to play a key role in reforming global governance and addressing the Triple Planetary Crisis.   BRICS should deepen cooperation, leveraging existing innovations in areas like renewable energy and biodiversity conservation.   The New Development Bank (NDB)…

CALI, Colombia: The International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits (IAPB) today launched its Framework for high integrity biodiversity credit markets. The Framework lays the foundation for how biodiversity credits, a financing mechanism, can be harnessed to drive much needed investment towards the conservation and restoration…

Under Brazil’s presidency, the social agenda of the G20 has gained significant focus this year, with proposals addressing three key priorities of the country’s leadership: poverty alleviation, reform of global governance, and sustainable development. Participation from organizations extended beyond engagement groups, with formal contributions made…