Luxembourg Announces AI-Based Rio Changemakers Initiative at COP30

On Wednesday 19 November 2025, the Luxembourg government and the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) announced the Rio Changemakers initiative at the 2025 United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil.

According to Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity, Changemakers is a cornerstone of the Grand Duchy’s new Climate Nexus Investment Program, with the country committing €320 million over the next five years to advance transparent, high-integrity, locally led nature-based solutions. The initiative is an AI-powered marketplace unlocking private investment in climate, biodiversity, land and community solutions.

For the launch, ministers and senior representatives from eleven countries and organisations joined a high-level roundtable at COP30.

According to the ministry, the new platform will use AI to connect investors, funds and projects. The matchmaking engine will curate investment pipelines, linking projects to finance and technical assistance to ensure they are bankable and ready for implementation.

Co-developed by Luxembourg and the GLF, and supported by several countries and stakeholders, the initiative addresses a funding gap that limits climate and nature finance reaching local actors.

Following COP30, Rio Changemakers will begin a twelve-month pilot phase before becoming fully operational at COP31.

Ministers and senior representatives from the following countries and organisations took part in the launch roundtable and expressed their support:

- Serge Wilmes, Luxembourg’s Minister of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity

- Rita Mesquita, Brazil’s National Secretary for Biodiversity, Forests and Animal Rights

- Alexandre Dias Monteiro, Cabo Verde’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Energy

- Habib Abid, Tunisia’s Minister of Environment

- Felix Wertli, Switzerland’s Ambassador for the Environment

- Christian Stenberg, Denmark’s Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities

- Karin Jehle, Liechtenstein’s Office of Environment

- Sohel Akm, Bangladesh’s Additional Secretary and Wing Chief of the United Nations Wing, Economic Relations Division (ERD), Ministry of Finance

- Edwin Castellanos, Guatemala’s Deputy Minister of Environment

- Muhiden Negash, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Planning and Development

- Ismail Belen, Turkey’s Chair of the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) and senior official of the General Directorate of Forests (OGM)

- Ysa Calderon, Peruvian chemical engineer and founder of the environmental enterprise Sumak Kawsay

Minister Wilmes commented: “This roundtable marks the official launch of Rio Changemakers - a bold, inclusive and science-guided initiative designed to unlock private investment across climate, biodiversity, land and community. Powered by AI and rooted in partnership, Rio Changemakers is more than a marketplace. It is a bridge, connecting high-integrity, locally led solutions with the capital, capacity and collaboration they need to thrive.”

“Let us lay the foundation for an annual follow-up and stocktaking mechanism to track ambition, implementation and impact. This will help ensure accountability, transparency and continuous learning. Let us work together to ensure that nature-based solutions are not only morally right but financially viable, because investing in nature is investing in our shared future. Luxembourg may be small in size, but we are strong in resolve. To us, leadership is not about dominance - it is about service. It is about showing up when it matters the most,” he added.

Other delegates highlighted the initiative’s potential to improve decision making, strengthen transparency, reduce investment risks and increase access to capital for locally led climate and nature projects. They also noted that an AI-driven platform could help streamline coordination, broaden project visibility and support stronger partnerships between regions.

About the GLF and Luxembourg-GLF Finance For Nature Platform

GLF is the world’s largest knowledge-led platform on integrated land use, connecting people with a shared vision to create productive, profitable, equitable and resilient landscapes. It is led by the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), in collaboration with its co-founders, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Bank and its charter members.

The Luxembourg-GLF Finance for Nature Platform is a partnership between the Government of Luxembourg and the Global Landscapes Forum to promote investment in sustainable land use. The platform seeks to guide financial flows toward land-use models that are equitable, inclusive and economically viable. It also aims to increase funding for climate action, biodiversity and land restoration.

EO

Photo Caption: 

Photo Credit: Daniel Martínez-Quintanilla Pérez / GLF