Minister mentions Brazil’s strides in curbing global warming
In his address at the 24th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 24), in Katowice, Poland, Brazil’s Minister of the Environment Edson Duarte said today (Dec. 12) that Brazil has made significant progress in the commitments taken up to reduce global warming.
The speech was directed at representatives from over 190 countries comprising the UN convention on climate change. Ministers and delegation members must put together an action plan by Friday (14) to implement the goals set forth in the Paris Agreement, signed in 2015.
Minister Edson Duarte underscored that Brazil’s experience in the field has proved successful and represents not only the efforts made by the government, but also the Brazilian society.
International partnership
Duarte also pointed out that the country is still among the biggest actors when it comes to measures on climate change, and argued that international efforts should be bolstered to further lower emissions worldwide, also stimulating sustainable growth and the eradication of poverty.
As he did at other COP 24 meetings in the last few days, the Brazilian minister urged nations to become more ambitious in their contributions to meet climate goals, speed up their transitions to a low-carbon economy, and stimulate the participation of all of society to cut emissions.
Achievements
Duarte noted that Brazil managed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 6 million tons from 2006 to 2015, during which period deforestation in the Amazon was considerably decreased. In the last three years, the reduction reached 3.9 billion tons, he reported.
He also cited that Brazil boasts over 173 million hectares of preservation areas, mentioning the more than 5 million territories registered as having preserved green areas across the country.
The minister reiterated that the country met the 2020 voluntary goals on greenhouse gas emissions in forested areas last year, added that the country may also reach the target of slashing deforestation in the Amazon by 80 percent by 2020, and celebrated the lowered degradation rate in the Cerrado.
The commitment of recovering 12 million hectares of native vegetation by 2030 was also underscored. The country now has 9.4 million hectares under recovery, the minister declared.
Investment
In his speech, the Brazilian official listed investments adding up to over $2.5 billion in sustainable field techniques under the Low-Carbon Agriculture program and the increased use of biofuels under the Renovabio initiative.
Biofuels, he said, now serve nearly half of the biofuel demand for cars and for nearly ten percent of heavy vehicles. Brazil is counted among the world’s cleanest energy grids, with 43 percent based on renewable energy. The country’s goal, Duarte went on to note, is to reach 45 percent by 2030. He also reported that the generation of wind power surged 27 percent last year.
*The reporter is attending COP 24 a the invitation of the United Nations Foundation.
