“We are committed to consolidating a strategy that combines environmental conservation and climate resilience, through the valorization of forest ecosystem services, the promotion of biodiversity, and fire prevention,” stressed Prime Minister Luís Montenegro at the COP30 climate conference leaders' summit, taking place in Belém, in the Brazilian Amazon.

“Our forest ecosystems present a set of challenges, namely the risk of fire, which compel us to act,” he added.

In the commitment “Call to Action on Integrated Fire Management and Forest Fire Resilience,” the signatories acknowledge that wildfires are one of the most dramatic manifestations of climate change, affecting all States equally and constituting a challenge that “no country is capable of facing alone.”

“It is this awareness and this purpose of action that leads us to confirm today [Thursday] that we will subscribe to this commitment", said the head of the Portuguese government.

In this sense, the countries are committed to “promoting a transition from approaches focused on fire suppression to integrated strategies based on prevention, in order to achieve systemic resilience.”

In practice, this means, for example, investing in the creation of firebreaks and the regular clearing of forests to prevent the outbreak of wildfires, instead of investing only in the purchase of aircraft to extinguish them.

Furthermore, they agreed to strengthen international cooperation to prevent, combat, and recover from wildfires, which in recent years have particularly affected countries such as Portugal, Bolivia, the United States, Brazil, Spain, and Greece, among many others.

In this context, they intend to establish a protocol for action to help each other as quickly as possible.

“This includes intensifying cross-border and inter-institutional collaboration” through the shared use of technologies and best practices, the declaration adds.

In addition, they intend to support local populations, such as indigenous peoples, and combat environmental crimes.

Among the countries that supported the appeal are Germany, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Spain, Ecuador, Greece, Indonesia, Japan, Lebanon, Morocco, Mexico, Panama, the Netherlands, Peru, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the Dominican Republic, Russia, Uruguay, South Korea, and North Korea.