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CLIMATE CHANGE
"By 2030, we will announce to the world: zero deforestation in Brasil," states President Lula
The President of Brasil has launched measures to invest in sustainable development, combat deforestation and forest fires in the Amazon and encourage the use of renewable energies in the country. The project will work in 70 Brazilian municipalities that were responsible for 78% of deforestation in the Amazon in 2022. The actions are in line with the priorities of Brasil's G20 presidency.
"We have made a commitment that, by 2030, we are going to announce to the world: zero deforestation in Brasil," said President Lula at the launch ceremony of the Union with Municipalities for Reducing Deforestation and Forest Fires in the Amazon program (Programa União com os Municípios pela Redução do Desmatamento e Incêndios Florestais na Amazônia). The initiative provides for 730 million reais in investments for sustainable development and the fight against deforestation and forest fires in 70 municipalities that were responsible for 78% of deforestation in the Amazon in 2022. The event took place on Tuesday (09) at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia.
President Lula emphasized that the program will contribute to helping the lives of indigenous people, fishermen, rubber tappers, small rural workers, and people in general who live in the region.
Sustainable development in the economic, social and environmental dimensions is a priority for Brasil's G20 presidency. "We need to take care of the largest forest reserve in the world, which is under our care. Trying to make people understand that keeping the forest standing is an economic gain," highlighted President Lula.
600 million reais will be invested in the program from the Fundo Amazônia and 130 million reais from Floresta+.
By joining the initiative, all municipalities must receive equipment and services to structure governance offices that improve environmental management, deforestation monitoring and cooperation between municipal and federal governments.
President Lula emphasized that the program will contribute to helping the lives of indigenous people, fishermen, rubber tappers, small rural workers, and people in general who live in the region.
Environment and Climate Change Minister Marina Silva said that the federal government knows it will not contain deforestation through command and control alone. "We will contain deforestation when keeping the forest standing is more profitable, more advantageous, than cutting it down," she explained.
The federal government's resources will be earmarked for actions in the municipalities based on the logic of "payment for performance". That is, the greater the annual reduction in deforestation and degradation, the greater the amount invested. The parameter will be the monitoring system Prodes, of the National Institute for Space Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais - INPE). Prodes calculates the annual rate of deforestation, measured from August of one year to July of the following year. It is expected that at least 30,000 families will be benefited by payments for environmental services and technical assistance actions.
Provisional Measure boosts investment in renewable energies
On the same day, President Lula and the Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, signed the Provisional Measure on Renewable Energies and the Reduction of Tariff Impact. The measure is expected to generate up to 165 billion reais in private investment in Brasil, mainly in the Northeast region and in the North of Minas Gerais. In addition to creating around 400,000 jobs and a reduction in Brazilians' electricity bills of between 3.5% and 5%, the minister said.
For Silveira, the country is taking another step towards strengthening the energy transition and leading the new green economy with this measure. "I speak here and abroad, Brasil is the protagonist of the global energy transition, just look at the data and achievements. The future is green and Brasil has already worn the jersey long before the game started," said the minister, referring to long-standing national projects such as the encouragement of the use of ethanol. Brasil is one of the three main producers of biofuels in the world, alongside the United States and India.
The measure is expected to generate up to 165 billion reais in private investment in Brasil, mainly in the Northeast region and in the North of Minas Gerais. In addition to creating around 400,000 jobs and a reduction in Brazilians' electricity bills of between 3.5% and 5%, the minister said.
The energy transition is a topic of debate within the G20 due to the importance of using clean energy sources to preserve the environment. However, it is necessary to think about and debate ways of making the transition, since most of the world's energy matrix comes from non-renewable resources such as oil and coal.
The next meeting of the Energy Transitions Working Group should be attended by Minister Alexandre Silveira and will take place on April 15 and 16 in Brasilia.