Brazil is looking to build an "ecological legacy" and called on richer countries to invest in its growing sustainable markets as it prepares to host the UN Cop 30 climate summit later this year, government representatives said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
"The last two Cop editions were held in countries where most of their economy relies on oil exploration," northern Para state governor Helder Barbalho said at WEF today. "For the first time this year, we will have the international community debating climate change and economy while standing in the largest rainforest in the world."
Brazil will host Cop 30 in November in Para's capital Belem, at the mouth of the Amazon rainforest. It tapped veteran diplomat Andre Aranha Correa do Lago, an advocate of sustainable development, to preside over the summit.
Also speaking at WEF, Brazil's supreme court president Luis Roberto Barroso focused on government efforts to prevent environmental crimes and regulate new sustainable market.
Throughout President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's third administration — which began in 2023 — Brazil approved its carbon credit trade market as well as offshore wind generation and biofuels regulation. Barroso said that the Brazilian judiciary branch, along with the legislative and executive power, established ecological and landownership matters as major priorities.
Para's governor touted its major achievements from 2019-2024. The state is Brazil's former largest largest greenhouse gases (GHG) producer, but has reduced its emissions.
"People used to think that, in order to increase income, we should destroy our forests and open space for other activities," Barbalho said. "Today, we know how to take advantage of our forests to create sustainable jobs, new ways of income and to diversify our economy while preserving current flora and fauna."
Although Para increased its cattle raising by 3mn from 2021-2024, it cut deforestation in Amazonian lands by 42pc because of sustainable practices and financial incentives for farmers to preserve native vegetation, Barbalho added.
The state is also focusing on the carbon credit market, the governor said. Recently, Para sold carbon credits equivalent to over 12mn metric tonnes of CO2 , raising $1bn to be used in continuous emission-reducing practices thanks to state-issued policies.
New growth
Still, Brazil cannot meet its previous Cop pledges with only its current forests and without reforestation. Almost 50pc of Brazil's GHG emissions came from land-use and forestry as of January 2024.
In November, Para created Brazil's first forest restoration concession, which will allow companies to participate in an open call to reforest and restore the damaged area of the Triunfo do Xangu environmental reserve. Once the restoration is done, the company will generate revenue through carbon credits from the recovered area.
Brazil — which saw increased deforestation during president Jair Bolsonaro's administration in 2019-2022 — has been targeting reforestation as part of its efforts to meet its emissions-reduction target.
Brazil's mines and energy minister Alexandre Silveira is also in Davos and seeking to attract investment in renewable energy-fueled data centers in Brazil, the ministry told Argus. The data center plan is under development and will be concluded by the end of the first half.
Data centers consume up to 2pc of all power generated in the world and are responsible for 0.3pc of all CO2 emissions, according to the US International Energy Agency.
But Barroso ended the panel saying that "climate change deniers made a triumphant return."
On Monday, US president Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Climate agreement. "I'm immediately withdrawing from the unfair, one-sided Paris climate accord rip-off," Trump said at a rally later in the day. "The US will not sabotage their own industries while China pollutes with impunity."
Trump is scheduled to speak at Davos on 23 January.
Throughout his campaign, Trump repeated the slogan "drill, baby, drill" as part of his support for fossil fuel production in the US.
