After Germany’s donation, Brazil’s Federal Government wants to expand the green economy in the Amazon

With an eye on the resumption of donations to the Amazon Fund and the discussion of carbon credits, the Federal Government of Brazil believes that creating a green, pollution-free economy in the Amazon is possible.

This week, the theme was discussed with the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who officially visited Brazil.

This is one of the current administration’s priorities, which wants partnerships with other countries to guarantee the preservation of the forest without giving up its sovereignty over the Amazon.

President Lula da Silva (PT) affirms that it is not necessary to deforest to guarantee sources of income for the local population and defends the recuperation of areas degraded by agriculture and cattle-raising:

“I said literally, for them to understand that we do not want to transform the Amazon into a sanctuary of humanity. More than 25 million people live there. We want the Amazon to be researched by those who understand it, for us to use the biodiversity to create jobs for those people, and for us to charge the rich countries for the carbon credit, which is talked about so much and appears so little.”

The country has been fighting for years to define the rules for paying about US$100 billion (R$507 billion) promised to developing nations.

Brazil pleads for at least US$10 billion in external financing.

Carbon credits are due to countries that reduce the emission of so-called greenhouse gases.

Because they are polluters, rich countries commit to paying for local emissions, which in practice has yet to be implemented.

President Lula da Silva, viewed with some trepidation by financial market investors, reaffirmed that the government has fiscal responsibility:

“I am a person who defends economic stability very much. I want fiscal seriousness, but I want political seriousness; I want social seriousness. It is true that we have many debts to pay, but the debt that has been unpayable for five centuries is the social debt to the Brazilian people. It is impossible that a country that is the third largest producer of food in the world, the first producer of animal protein in the world, has 8.5 million square kilometers, and has 8,000 kilometers of maritime coastal, have people going hungry”.

The government has also committed to a real readjustment of the minimum wage.

It justifies that the discussion was held precisely this year because it was the beginning of a new administration with a budget from the previous government.

The promise is to resume the minimum wage appreciation policy in the coming years.

On Tuesday, 31, in a ceremony at the Planalto Palace, Lula da Silva signed two decrees creating the Social Participation Council and the Interministerial Social Participation System.

The group will meet every three months to discuss the government’s main guidelines and create a bridge between the ministries and the demands of social movements.

With information from reporter Luciana Verdolin/Jovem Pan