Brazil unveils Ecological Plan at COP28 as Global South proposal

The Brazilian government presented Brazil’s Ecological Transformation Plan this Friday (Dec. 1) in Dubai as a proposal of the Global South, during an event held as part of COP28, the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

The Global South is the term used to refer to developing or emerging countries, most of which located in the southern hemisphere.

Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said that the plan, in addition to being a platform for sustainable investment in Brazil, is a proposal from the Global South for a new globalization, “a globalization that’s environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive, with an overhaul of global financial flows and the affirmation of the South as the center of green economy.”

At the beginning of his speech, Minister Haddad said the plan must overcome Brazil’s “heavy colonial legacy of social exclusion, environmental destruction, and international subordination” and drew attention to the deforestation of the colonial period, which took place alongside the exploitation of indigenous people and Africans enslaved in the country.

“The environmental and human effects of the extraction of all these products [sugar, gold, and coffee], which were mostly consumed in the Global North and played a fundamental role in the development history of these countries, have been felt in Brazil, Latin America, and Africa. That’s why it’s so unfair that the nations of the North now want the Global South to pay the costs of the climate crisis we’re experiencing,” he argued.

The minister went on to say that the Ecological Transformation Plan aims to stop five centuries of extraction and environmental destruction. “These initiatives aim to create the conditions for a new wave of investment that will have as its main objective the technological consolidation of our industry, the qualification of our workforce, and the modernization of our science and technology.”

Pillars

The plan is based on six pillars: sustainable funding, technological development, bioeconomy, energy transition, circular economy, and infrastructure and adaptation to climate change. Among the measures are a regulated carbon market, the creation of technological innovation centers at universities, the expansion of forest concession areas, electronic bus fleets, incentives for recycling, and public works to reduce the risk of natural disasters.

He cited studies that indicate that Brazil needs $130 to US$160 billion in investment every year over the next 10 years—mainly in infrastructure—in order to achieve ecological transformation. “The good news is, we have a history of being able to mobilize investment and create sustainable infrastructure. If we’re a renewable energy giant today, it is thanks to public investment,” he said, further mentioning investment in hydroelectric dams and the ethanol industry.

Also in attendance at the ceremony was the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva, who stressed that it is necessary to combine economics with ecology in order to tackle climate change. “We already have the technology for this, we already have a good part of the technical response and now we’re combining the technical response with President Lula’s ethical and political commitment to lead by example,” she declared.

Brazil’s Development Bank

Brazil’s National Economic and Social Development Bank (BNDES) should be one of the main financing tools for the Ecological Transformation Plan, said institution head Aloizio Mercadante, who was present at the unveiling ceremony of the plan in Dubai.

“BNDES will be at the forefront of financing this plan. We want a green and decarbonized Brazil, and we’re going to hold a major COP of the Global South to lead this experiment,” said Mercadante, referring to COP30, which will be held in Brazil in 2025.

The bank has financed 90 percent of the country’s hydroelectric plants, he pointed out, and 75 percent of its wind energy. “BNDES is a 71-year-old bank, but, according to Bloomberg, it is the bank that has financed the most renewable, clean, and sustainable energy in the history of all the banks on the planet,” he concluded.

Also attending were former President Dilma Roussef, who now chairs the BRICS bank—the New Development Bank (NDB)—and Brazilian Ilan Goldfajn, who chairs the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).