In the first half of 2025, IRI Brazil organized five high-impact scientific immersion training sessions, with the participation of 176 religious leaders and influencers, reinforcing a proven model that integrates tropical forest and climate science with spiritual and ethical responsibility.
These immersive training sessions took place at Brazil’s leading scientific institutions—INPE (National Institute for Space Research) and CEMADEN (National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alerts)—and were aimed at important faith-based audiences, including Catholic and Evangelical leaders and leaders from other traditions, such as the Black Evangelical Movement and artists from the gospel music community.
As an example of its reach and influence, one of the immersion groups was selected by the Brazilian Evangelical Alliance (ACEB), which represents more than 7 million church members and has a social media reach of up to 12 million followers. In another, the immersion focused on 11 Brazilian gospel music artists—collectively followed by more than 2 million people and reaching up to 7 million monthly listeners.
The immersions provided intensive exposure to satellite monitoring of deforestation and forest fires, climate science, and climate disaster warning systems. Participants explored the connections between deforestation, public health, water security, and extreme weather, as well as biblical and theological imperatives for the protection and restoration of tropical forests.
It is worth noting that 73% of participants were under 39 years old, reflecting a growing intergenerational shift in religious environmental leadership in Brazil. The training model has shown strong proof of concept: scientific credibility coupled with faith-based values catalyzes ongoing advocacy and institutional mobilization within religious networks.
