Priorities
- Increase Deforestation Monitoring
- Greater Use and Spread of High Technology Products for the Agricultural Sector
- Restore Forests, Wetlands, and Degraded Pasture Land
- Reduce the Number of Landfills by Investing in Proper Waste Management
- Increase Wind and Solar Plant Capacity
Narrative
As evidenced in previous posts, Brazil is lagging on its path towards their Paris Agreement emission reduction target for 2030 (a reduction of 45% from 2005 levels). To change this and allow for a low carbon economy in the country, there are a few necessary steps that need to be taken.
Some of them include:
- Increase deforestation monitoring, through policy and administration change. Historically, deforestation has been the main source of emissions in Brazil, accounting for 44% of the total. And this number has only increased since Bolsonaro became the president in 2019. Thus, it is key for the country to increase its deforestation monitoring and control policies to reach its emission reduction target for 2030. To do so, it is necessary to empower and invest in monitoring organizations such as IBAMA (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) and INPE (National Space Research Agency). A KPI necessary to track improvement in this area would be the annual % of deforested land.
- Greater use and spread of high-technology products for the agricultural sector. Currently, this industry represents 28% of emissions and most of the smaller players still use outdated technologies that have a lower yield and emit more GHG gases. This type of action would increase productivity and reduce the need for deforestation for new agricultural areas. The action would be implemented through high investment in funding for new technologies, and education for farmers, so they can take better advantage of it, as stated in the government’s ABC plan. A KPI necessary for monitoring the implementation of this plan would be the financial capital invested in new technologies for this area.
- Restore forests, wetlands, and degraded pasture land. Restoring deforested areas could help the country to capture more carbon and to reestablish the balance between different ecosystems in the country. A policy in this scope already exists, and it is called Planaveg. To take this further, it would be necessary to maintain the administration accountable for the project, through activism and corporate engagement. A KPI needed to monitor the implementation of the project would be the delta increase of natural forest land in the country.
- Reduce the number of landfills by investing in proper waste management for the population. Currently, in Brazil, only 60% of the population has access to proper residential solid waste management, and that is both a social and environmental problem for the country and its people. From the 2030 target standpoint, solid waste represents 5% of total emissions in the country, and this could be avoided by implementing selective waste collecting and recycling programs. An important target of this policy would be to increase the percentage of Brazilians who have access to selective waste collection and proper waste management.
- Increase wind and solar plant capacity in the country. The energy sector accounts for 18% of Brazilian emissions, and this could be reduced by the implementation of renewable energy plants, which Brazil has plenty of natural resources for developing. To increase the number of these types of products, it would be necessary to minimize fossil fuel subsidies, and use public policy to increase incentives in the generation and use of solar and wind. The best KPI to track progress in the area would be the increase of capacity and generation of these sources of energy.
Two important organizations to keep Brazilian policymakers and government accountable for its actions would be the Climate Observatory, which is a civil society NGO, and the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), which is a corporate counsel for the climate and sustainable development agenda.
Contact:
Climate Observatory Communication Team
Email: comunicacao@observatoriodoclima.eco.br
CEBDS
Mail: Av. Almirante Barroso, 81 – 32 floor, Centro – Rio de Janeiro – RJ – Zip Code: 20031-004
Tel: +55 21 2483-2250
Email: cebds@cebds.org
Sources:
https://www.oc.eco.br/en/na-contramao-do-mundo-brasil-aumentou-emissoes-em-plena-pandemia/
This Post was submitted by Climate Scorecard Brazil Country Manager Elis Cotosky