TJNS in the Territories: Education Builds Climate Policy in the Favelas of Petrópolis

With 12.3% of households in areas at high risk of landslides and 130 environmental crimes in recent years, Petrópolis faces an urgent climate crisis. In a scenario where favelas and peripheries are the most vulnerable, the Instituto Todos Juntos Ninguém Sozinho (TJNS), through the TJNS nos Territórios project, is bringing the debate on environmental racism directly to the communities, transforming information into political power. The mission is clear: to give residents the tools to defend themselves and create their own solutions.

Led by its founder and director, Pamela Mércia, the project mobilized a team of 17 people to conduct cycles of classes in five peripheral territories of the city: Quilombo da Tapera, Caxambú, Vila Rica, Posse and Neylor. The initiative stems from the need to decentralize knowledge that often does not reach those who need it most.

É um projeto pensado em levar aulas sobre racismo ambiental nos territórios, com a ideia de descentralizar essa informação”, explica Pamela. O objetivo é mostrar como a exposição desigual aos riscos climáticos é uma questão social, econômica e racial.

The education that TJNS promotes is not an end in itself, but a means to political action. The project empowers residents so that they can, together, build reflections and proposals to promote change in their city. The ultimate goal is ambitious and transformative: at the end of the training cycles, participants will be prepared to create a Bill (PL) for the Municipal Policy to Combat Environmental Racism.

The initiative is one of the highlights of the Agenda Rio 2030 Call for Proposals from the Casa Fluminense Fund, which supports projects that fight for climate justice in the Metropolitan Region. TJNS in the Territories demonstrates that the debate on the climate crisis needs to move out of the centers of power and reach the grassroots, empowering the most affected communities so that they become the true authors of a fairer and safer future.