São Paulo Climate Week 2026 brings democracy and polarization into the climate debate

Thais Lazzeri, Jacqueline Moraes, Mathaus Torres and Andrea Iwaki Motta.
Photo courtesy of FALA

The climate crisis is already a reality across different territories, shaping people’s everyday lives. And the challenge of talking about it is not only about communicating better, but also about learning to listen better.

Mathaus Torres, Programmatic Coordinator at ICCI, shared this reflection during São Paulo Climate Week. If people are already living with the impacts of the climate crisis every day, then before trying to convince them, we need to understand their experiences, recognize the knowledge they already have, and build messages that speak to the realities they live.

This discussion was part of the panel “The perfect storm: 2026 elections, AI, polarization, and climate silence,” hosted by FALA - impact studio and moderated by its director, Thais Lazzeri.

Andrea Iwaki Motta and Jacqueline Moraes Teixeira also joined the discussion, adding different perspectives to the conversation around one of the biggest challenges of our time: how can we strengthen democracy in a context marked by the climate crisis, AI, polarization, and growing tensions around information? The group pointed to building trust, making space for listening, and creating dialogue as ways to address these challenges.