When OpenEarth Foundation presented the results of Brazil’s national-scale deployment of CityCatalyst at COP30, the reaction was immediate. People leaned forward, took photos, and asked the same question again and again:
“You completed GHG inventories, climate risk assessments and prioritized actions for all 5,570 municipalities… in just over a year?”
The combination of scale, speed and methodological consistency positioned Brazil’s experience as one of the most referenced examples of applied climate intelligence at COP30. Not because it was perfect, but because it demonstrated what is possible when national governments, local partners and open-source technology align around a shared objective.
Brazil’s project became a tangible proof of concept for how countries can move from fragmented local data to integrated, finance-aligned planning at unprecedented scale.
In partnership with the Brazilian federal government, C40 Cities, the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) and local implementers I Care Brasil and Brisa Soluçoes, OpenEarth deployed CityCatalyst to support:
In total, 150.5 MtCO₂e worth of emissions were addressed within the prioritized mitigation actions, equivalent to approximately 12.2% of Brazil’s gross emissions (compared to National Inventory Report 2024).
For the first time, a country produced a fully harmonized, national-scale climate dataset across every municipality, transforming Brazil into a global reference point for what coordinated, multi-level climate planning can look like.
Throughout COP30, Brazil’s example emerged repeatedly, in bilateral meetings with development banks, CHAMP-related conversations, technical panels on AI and open data, philanthropy roundtables and informal exchanges.
Governments, funders and networks highlighted five core qualities that made Brazil’s model stand out:
In a COP marked by debates on fossil fuel transitions, adaptation frameworks and political negotiation challenges, Brazil’s example offered something deeply practical: a blueprint for implementation.
It showed that countries do not have to wait for perfect global consensus to advance climate action at scale.
One of the less highlighted but important wins of COP30 was the preservation of multilateral collaboration. Despite disagreements and criticism over fossil fuel language, the so-called “Belém Package” was adopted by the Parties.
In a geopolitical moment where multilateralism is under pressure, this continued alignment matters. It provides the enabling environment within which models like Brazil’s can scale internationally.
If COP30 showed that global consensus is difficult, it also reaffirmed that the global system is still alive, and countries are willing to move together, especially when presented with clear, replicable pathways like CityCatalyst.
Across all these conversations, one theme dominated:
“We need tools that turn climate information into investable project pipelines.”
This is now the central demand of climate finance institutions, and CityCatalyst is emerging as a leading solution.
CityCatalyst as an integrated modular tool, developed under OpenEarth’s LIFT Data program, was showcased at the Inter-American Development Bank House and received strong positive feedback.
The tool’s integrative capabilities reinforced the value of CityCatalyst as part of a broader ecosystem of open, finance-aligned climate intelligence.
Brazil demonstrated that:
In a COP where many negotiations stalled, Brazil offered a much-needed example of applied climate leadership.
The demand for scalable, finance-ready, open-source climate infrastructure has never been clearer.
Brazil proved that national-scale deployment is not only possible, it is replicable.
The path forward is grounded in the same principles:
Brazil showed what can be done. Now, the global community is ready to follow.
