ILHA DO COMBU / COP30 BAERBOCK VISIT

General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock visited a sustainable cacao production enterprise in the island of Combu on the banks of the Guamá River, just 30 minutes by boat from Belém, the host city of this year’s UN Climate Change Conference COP30.

The island is home to the Filha do Combu Association, created by Izete Costa, known affectionately as Dona Nena.

Baerbock first met Dona Nena two years ago when she served as Germany’s Foreign Minister.

After tasting Amazonian fruits and several chocolate recipes prepared on site, Dona Nena led Baerbock on a trail through the forest, where the two had met with a group of women producers two years earlier.

Baerbock said, “this climate conference shows that economic growth and sustainable development go hand in hand. And if we do economic production, like here in the rainforest, sustainable, together with the people who know the Amazonas, who know the forest, then this can be a win-win process for everybody.”

On the other hand, she said, we can see here as well, if we are not joining hands on sustainable growth and sustainable development. Then we will destroy our life insurance, because the rainforest is the life insurance for the whole world.”

Combu is not immune to climate impacts. Recently, Dona Nena has harvested less cacao; fruits and trees are drying, shrinking, and deforming. And the fear of losing access to drinking water grows by the day.

Baerbock said, “this COP does not only have to be the COP of implementation, it has to be a COP where we show around the world that especially in geopolitical challenging times the vast majority of countries, but also people around the world, businesses, finance actors are joining hands to fight the climate crisis and by that deliver on sustainable growth for everybody.”

They stood before a towering Sumaúma, more than 280 years old — a giant that predates the industrial era and could stand for centuries more, if COP30 succeeds.

Despite being the rainy season, not a single drop has fallen on Combu in over 15 days. The General Assembly President listened with concern as Dona Nena described the drought and the impacts already unfolding.

Baerbock said, “now it's the midst of November. Normally in November the rainy season starts. But it rained only a little bit. So, we see the climate effects here in the rainforest, and this is why it's so important that at this COP, there was also the new initiative being launched for protecting the rainforest. And again, making clear that this can be sustainable if you work hand in hand with local communities, but also have commitments that the rainforest has to be preserved.”

Starting with small-scale chocolate production using Amazonian cacao, Dona Nena sold at local fairs, later completing professional training to expand her business. She added a tourism component as well, inviting visitors to see firsthand how chocolate is made in the rainforest. Of the 20 workers employed at the site, 16 are women.