From the Islands to the Amazon

This is part of our “Letters from Belém” series — reflections written from afar as the world gathers for COP30 in Brazil. Though we’re joining virtually, our hearts are with those working for climate justice across the globe.

---

Dear Earth,

Today, the world gathers in Belém, Brazil where the Amazon’s veins meet the sea, where the air hums with urgency and prayer. Delegates have flown from everywhere, carrying binders full of numbers, promises, and what-ifs.

Here in the Philippines, we’ve just weathered two typhoons back to back. Rivers overflowed, mountains collapsed, and farmers lost entire harvests overnight. The air still smells like mud and memory.

And yet, people are already rebuilding: drying rice in the sun, salvaging seeds, helping neighbors find higher ground.

We’re not in Belém, but we understand what’s at stake. The same storms that batter our shores are born from the same systems that the world is meeting to discuss. From our small island in Bohol, the wind carries whispers of the rainforest. Coconut palms sway like translators between oceans. Boogie lies by the window, ears flicking at thunder.

We write from a place that knows what it means to be both beautiful and vulnerable — where storms redraw coastlines, and corals remember better times. Yet, we also know that healing begins with remembering we belong to the same breath.

May COP30 remember that too.

With care and courage,

ClimateHope.us & Boogie 🐾

💌 Write your own #LetterFromBelém and tag @climatehope.us. Where are you writing from? What does hope sound like where you live?