World leaders will be flying around the globe in (private) jets to talk about climate change for the upcoming COP30. Flotilla4Change takes a different route. Neither the fastest, nor the easiest, but perhaps the most honest (and most fun!). A growing fleet carrying sailors, scientists, nature protectors, indigenous activists and artists are preparing to cross the Atlantic Ocean, bound for the UN Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil from 10th – 21st November 2025. Not by plane, but by sailboat.
The fleet, organised by Flotilla4Change, already includes several notable ships: Twister, Atmos, Avontuur, Sababa, Infinity, Galaxie, Ide Min, and the Morgenster (and more are welcome to join!). The vessels will depart from European ports and gather between 5th and 12th October in Tenerife, and continue to Belém together. The flotilla will take three to four weeks to reach Brazil, arriving in time for the COP30 in November.
Supported by partners including Sail4Earth, Fair Ferry, VoyageVert, and Not1More, Flotilla4Change is part protest, part pilgrimage. “There’s no such thing as a carbon-neutral COP,” as founding organiser Ross Porter and captain of SY Sababa notes, “but we can choose how we show up.”
This is no romanticised escape. The project aims to highlight the lack of access to global climate diplomacy for those most affected by environmental breakdown. Clemens Oestreich, captain of SY Infinity, a 120ft. Ketch Expedition Sailing Yacht explains why Sail4Earth has joined as one of the partners of Flotilla4Change. “During the COP30 summit in Belém, we will collaborate with Flotilla4Change to give the indigenous people from all over the world and especially from the rainforest a voice. Together with sailors, influencers and activists, we set sail with Infinity into the Amazon in midsummer to bring the local Indigenous people to the COP30 in Belém.
Once in Brazil, Infinity, Atmos, Sababa and several ships will remain moored in Belém to serve as floating hubs during COP30. The vessels of Flotilla4Change will host workshops, assemblies and discussions as part of the People’s COP, an alternative forum centering justice, grassroots voices and frontline perspectives to bring depth, urgency, and hope to the climate conversation.
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