Brazil calls on US for financial support to fight Amazon deforestation

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The first meeting between the Brazilian and the United States governments to discuss the environment was marked by a clear message from president Jair Bolsonaro: Brazil will commit to deforestation and fire reduction targets if there is a direct injection of foreign money in the country.

Without resources from the United States and other wealthy countries, there would be no way to protect the environment as provided by international agreements. The goal now is to clearly show that there has been a change in position on the issue.

The need to seek a “financial arrangement” for environmental preservation and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets marked the discussion this week, according to sources in the Brazilian government. The meeting was attended by the ministers of Foreign Affairs, Ernesto Araújo, and Environment, Ricardo Salles, and the US government’s special envoy for Climate, John Kerry.

The Bolsonaro government considers that Brazil has thus far committed with other countries to help tackle climate change and the targets set in the Paris Agreement, albeit with no clear and financial conditions to achieve these commitments. The tone of the discussion, as defined by a high-level government source, amounted to “we will do it, but you will have to pay”.

However, over the last few years, the Bolsonaro administration has suspended most of the Amazon Fund’s activities, which financed preservation projects with funds from Norway and Germany.

During a meeting that lasted a little over 40 minutes, Kerry listened to the Brazilian ministers’ statements and acknowledged that a new financial agreement should be created to support local actions to fight deforestation and forest fires. However, no details were given on how these resources could be transferred to Brazil, nor the extent and timing of this contribution.

The Americans committed to sending Brazil a draft environmental agenda that will guide weekly meetings henceforth. Kerry said in the meeting that he recognizes “the legitimacy and sovereignty of Brazil to take care of its issues” and that the Biden administration has “no objection to working with the Brazilian government”.

The effective opening of the Brazilian carbon credit market – through which countries or companies that pollute the most can finance the protection of national forests, as a way to offset their gas emissions – was advocated as one of the main measures to ensure that the resources will reach Brazil.

During his electoral campaign, Biden said that he could impose economic sanctions on Brazil unless action to curb the increase in deforestation was taken.

The American president further stated that he could offer US$20 billion (more than R$100 billion) for initiatives in the Amazon and vowed to “bring the world together” to demand measures and join the initiative, in a multilateral approach. At the time, Bolsonaro reacted negatively, saying that the statement was “regrettable” and that Brazilian sovereignty was “non-negotiable”.

On Thursday, February 18th, Kerry used Twitter to say that “tackling the climate crisis demands major impacts that can only be achieved with global partnerships.” “A good discussion yesterday (Wednesday, February 17th) on climate cooperation, Brazil’s leadership, and sustainable economic growth, with Ernesto Araújo, Ricardo Salles, and Nestor Forster (Brazilian ambassador to the US).”

Criticism

In late 2020, Ricardo Salles was criticized by companies and organizations linked to the environmental area, when he announced new climate goals for the country. At the time, the government reiterated its target of a 43% reduction in emissions by 2030, based on what was emitted in the country in 2005. This commitment had been made by the Dilma Rousseff administration in 2015, under the Paris Agreement. The United States are currently back in the climate pact, reverting the Donald Trump administration’s decision.

Brazil also signaled that it could eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions by 2060, as a contribution to the global effort to fight climate change, when many countries have set this goal for 2050. More ambitious targets were expected. The assessment was that Brazil’s position “jeopardizes global efforts to keep the planet’s average temperature increase at 1.5°C, at most, by the end of this century”, as provided for in the agreement.

The Government halted the Amazon Fund

The Brazilian government’s concern with the inflow of foreign resources to finance environmental protection finds no grounds when considering the situation of the Amazon Fund, Brazil’s largest environmental program, which was sponsored by Norway and Germany. By the end of last year, the fund had a list of 40 projects with analysis processes suspended, totaling R$1.409 billion in resources.

Over the past two years, the government has also sharply slashed the funds allocated to the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) and the Chico Mendes Institute of Biodiversity (ICMBio) for initiatives against deforestation and fires. For IBAMA, the budget allocated for the “prevention and control of forest fires” totaled R$49.9 million in 2019. The amount planned for 2021 is only R$29.7 million.

In environmental control and inspection actions in general, IBAMA relied on R$111.8 million in 2019. This year, it has requested R$83 million. On the other hand, ICMBio, which two years ago was allocated R$180.3 million for inspection and management of federal conservation units, is counting on R$96 million in 2021, at most.

In the last annual balance, deforestation in the Amazon rose by 9.5%. Between August 2019 and July 2020, a total area of 11,088 km² was deforested.

Source: O Estado de S. Paulo