Brasília, October 8, 2026. The Special Commission on Environment and Climate (CEMAC) of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) approved its Work Plan during the Commission’s Second Extraordinary Meeting, held in a hybrid format at the headquarters of the ACTO Permanent Secretariat in Brasília.
The approval of the Work Plan marks an important step toward consolidating CEMAC as ACTO’s technical coordination body on environmental and climate change issues, as well as a platform for cooperation among Member Countries to monitor the implementation of regional mandates related to the protection, conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of the Amazon, as well as climate action.
CEMAC is part of ACTO’s institutional strengthening process, driven by the Belém Declaration, adopted in 2023. Paragraph 4 of the Declaration called for the reactivation of the Special Commissions within the Organization, including the Special Commission on Environment. Subsequently, through Resolution RES/EXT-III MRE-OTCA/15, adopted in Bogotá in 2025, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs renamed it the Special Commission on Environment and Climate and instructed that its future Work Plan incorporate the exchange of national perspectives and experiences regarding the implementation of the relevant provisions of the Climate Change chapter of the Belém Declaration.
The approved document will guide the activities of CEMAC and its Subcommissions on Environment and Climate Change, supporting progress in identifying priorities, activities, responsibilities, and coordination mechanisms among Member Countries. It also seeks to strengthen coordination with other ACTO technical bodies, promoting synergies and avoiding duplication of efforts in implementing regional commitments.
The Secretary-General emphasized that the approval of the Work Plan strengthens environmental and climate governance in the Amazon and represents concrete progress in implementing the mandates arising from the Belém Declaration, the Bogotá Declaration, and the ministerial resolutions guiding the reactivation and functioning of the Special Commissions.
