Government shifts towards green economy, Levy says

Finance minister Joaquim Levy ensured on Monday (Sep. 21) at an event organized by the Brazilian Federation of Banks (Febraban), in São Paulo, the creation of environmental standards for major infrastructure projects in the country, a theme of the federal government's Agenda Brasil.

Levy said, however, that this "is not a matter of compliance [with environmental issues], but to promote investments in infrastructure and economic activities in line with sustainability standards and set deadlines compatible with the economic return for the benefit of the society itself."

According to the minister, the country goes through a continuous process of construction and convergence in order to speed up the growth resumption. He pointed out that efforts to address sustainable development "have encouraged the participation of several areas of the federal government and also the university, business community, and civil society."

He noted that some sectors have been working to reduce the greenhouse gases emission and they consider it to be an opportunity for development, not an obstacle.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta