British rock band Coldplay joined conservation group Re, co-founded by Leonardo DiCaprio, and Global Citizen in 2021 to push for stronger protection of Brazil’s Amazon. Ahead of Global Citizen Live on September 25, Coldplay urged eight state leaders to make commitments on conservation and climate action. Six states responded: Amapá, Amazonas, Ceará, Piauí, Pará and Paraíba. Their governments pledged to cut emissions and develop state-wide climate mitigation and adaptation plans. They also committed to declaring more than 1.7 million hectares of important forest as protected territory. The campaign was aimed at strengthening conservation across the region while supporting vulnerable communities. The commitments were expected to help protect more than 300 remote Indigenous communities living in areas affected by environmental and development pressures.
Coldplay helped drive the campaign
The campaign emerged amid growing concerns over Amazon deforestation, climate change and pressure on forests and Indigenous territories. Coldplay used its global platform to encourage Brazilian governors to participate in Global Citizen Live and announce environmental commitments. Re said its partnership with Coldplay began during the 2021 campaign, when the organisation and Global Citizen worked to encourage Amazon-state governors to establish new protected areas. Coldplay later became an ambassador for the effort, helping bring international attention to the conservation push.
Six states made conservation commitments
The campaign approached eight state governments, with six eventually announcing commitments: Amapá, Amazonas, Ceará, Piauí, Pará and Paraíba. Their pledges included cutting emissions, developing state climate mitigation and adaptation plans and protecting more than 1.7 million hectares of important forest. Global Citizen said the commitments could also benefit more than 300 remote Indigenous communities across the affected regions, adding another dimension to the states’ conservation plans.
Pará created a new protected area
Pará became one of the clearest examples of action following the campaign. Re says Governor Helder Barbalho was the first governor to publicly make a commitment. The state subsequently created the Refúgio de Vida Silvestre de São Benedito, a new protected area in the Amazon. Re linked the development to its partnership with Global Citizen, Coldplay and the Pará government, making it one of the tangible conservation outcomes associated with the 2021 campaign.
The Amazon campaign expanded after 2021
The conservation effort continued through subsequent commitments in Brazil. At the 2023 Global Citizen Festival, Pará’s governor pledged to protect 1 million hectares by 2025. Global Citizen later reported that by 2024, 500,000 hectares had been officially designated as protected lands, while another 200,000 hectares of illegally occupied Indigenous lands were announced for return to their rightful stewards.
DiCaprio’s role through Re
Leonardo DiCaprio’s connection to the campaign comes through Re, the conservation organisation he co-founded. His environmental work has included supporting efforts to protect forests, wildlife and Indigenous territories around the world. In 2026, Re reported that DiCaprio travelled through Brazil’s Amazon, Pantanal and Cerrado, where he met Indigenous leaders, conservationists and government officials working on ecosystem protection.Re has also participated in conservation financing initiatives in Brazil. In 2023, the Protecting Our Planet Challenge announced plans to invest $200 million over four years to support Brazil’s protected areas and Indigenous territories. Re said the funding would support efforts connected to Brazil’s goal of ending Amazon deforestation by 2030.
A wider conservation push
The 2021 campaign became part of a broader effort involving Global Citizen, Re, Brazilian governments, Indigenous organisations and philanthropic groups. Global Citizen reported in 2025 that its wider Protect the Amazon campaign had secured more than $1 billion in commitments, with initiatives connected to the protection or restoration of 31 million hectares and programmes expected to reach about 18 million people.
