Brazil and Germany team up on deforestation

Germany has pledged €550m to help Brazil's deforestation and energy efficiency programmes as part of a new climate change agreement between the two countries

Germany has pledged €550m to help Brazil's deforestation and energy efficiency programmes as part of a new climate change agreement between the two countries.

Following Angela Merkel’s state visit to Brasilia on Thursday, the two countries issued a joint statement calling for an ambitious agreement at the Paris climate talks in December.

Brazil President Dilma Rousseff promised to end deforestation by 2030, while Germany also donated €23m to help Brazil establish a rural land registry aimed at increasing monitoring of the Amazon.

"Brazil is the key to all goals related to the climate," said Merkel. She added that the biodiversity of the rainforest was as important as its carbon absorption.

“What gets destroyed here cannot be replaced,” she said.

Shared vision

Jennifer Morgan, the global director of the climate programme at the World Resources Institute (WRI) said: “The leaders of Brazil and Germany stood up for the cornerstones of an ambitious climate agreement in Paris.

“It’s telling that two countries with very different economies view a goal of decarbonizing the global economy, in an equitable manner, as desirable and achievable. Their shared vision that the Paris agreement should ensure countries deliver more ambitious actions over time sends a powerful signal to the international community.”

“The world will be watching to see if Brazil’s soon-to-be-released national climate plan lives up to these encouraging principles.”
Brazil, the world’s third biggest polluters, is expected to release its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) in the coming weeks. 

Progress

Nigel Sizer, the global director of WRI’s forest program, added: “This commitment reinforces Brazil’s vision of slowing the pace of deforestation, one of the country’s leading source of emissions.

Brazil has already made excellent progress by dramatically slowing deforestation and protecting land in the Amazon region. Brazil’s commitment to restore 12 million hectares of forests by 2030 will also help reduce emissions and generate economic opportunities.

“It will be important for Brazil to follow-through on these commitments, including open and transparent monitoring of progress. Brazil has the opportunity to go even further, including in other sectors, in its national commitments to the climate agreement.”
Earlier this week, an influential report found that the INDC’s already submitted by 46 countries before the Paris conference fell significantly short of the level required to limit global warming to two degrees.

Source: Edie

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Taxonomy

• Reforestation
• Forest Restoration
• Climate Protection