South America's largest economy now plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 67% by 2035, compared to 59% previously.
Brazil has increased its greenhouse gas reduction target from 59% to 67% by 2035, the government of left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced.
Alignment with the Paris Agreement
Brazil's new “nationally determined contribution” (NDC), based on 2005 levels, attempts to align with the commitments of the Paris Agreement on climate change, according to an official note released Friday evening.
Although countries signatory to the Paris Agreement have until February 2025 to present their new emissions targets, the Brazilian NDC will be proclaimed by Vice President Geraldo Alckmin during COP29, the United Nations conference on climate change. climate which will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11 to 22.
COP30 in Brazil in 2025
In 2025, Brazil will host the next edition of the conference, COP30, which will be held in the Amazonian city of Belem, in the north of the country.
The target proposed by the Brazilian government is equivalent to a reduction in annual emissions to reach between 850 million and around one billion tonnes of CO2 in 2035, compared to more than 2.4 billion tonnes in 2005.
“The new CDN covers all sectors of the economy and aligns with the objective of the Paris Agreement to limit average global warming to 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial period,” indicates the official note . “This commitment will allow Brazil to move towards climate neutrality by 2050,” he added.
Insufficient for an NGO
However, the Brazilian NGO Observatório do Clima, a network of environmental entities in Brazilian civil society, estimated that the figures in the new target “do not correspond to Brazil's fair contribution to stabilizing global warming.”
“They are also not consistent with the commitments already adopted by the government nor with the president's promise of zero deforestation in the country”, policies which would lead to “net emissions of less than 650 million tonnes by 2035”, a warned the executive secretary of the NGO Marcio Astrini, in a press release.
According to Marcio Astrini, the government note omitted crucial information such as the strategy to combat deforestation or the expansion of fossil fuels, which does not contribute to a “transparent” treatment as expected in “a country that aims to be a leader in the multilateral process to combat the climate crisis.”
Lula's government this week announced a more than 30% reduction in the rate of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon compared to the previous period, representing the largest percentage decline in the last 15 years.
