Transcript Brazil’s Policy Towards Climate Change

Brazil’s Policy Towards Climate
Change
• Brazil signed the FCCC in 1992; ratified by
National Congress in February in 1994
• Since June 1994 the Ministry of Science and
Technology has the responsibility to coordinate
the national efforts to attend the demands of the
FCCC
• Inter-agency (10 “Ministerios”) Committee on
Global Climate Change (July 1999): policies,
legislation, subsidies to international negotiations,
etc.  no societal involvement
National Commitments
• Brazil takes Article 4.1 very seriously: “All Parties should take
into account their common BUT differentiated responsabilities”
• Article 12 (in accordance Art. 4.1), each Party shall
communicate:
– A national inventory of anthropogenic emissions by sources
and removals by sinks of all greenhouse gases not controlled
by the Montreal Protocol, to the EXTENT ITS
CAPACITIES PERMIT, using comparable methodologis
(…)
– A general description of steps taken or envisaged by the
Party to implement the Convention
– Any other relevant information (e.g. material relevant for
calculations of global emission trends)
National Commitments
(continued)
• Funding for the National Inventory: August 1996
from Global Environment Facility (GEF) 
delayed
• 5 sectors to be covered by the National Inventory:
energy, industry, forest, agricultural and residues
(using existing programs, e.g., Alcohol program,
the Energy Conservation program, the Renewable
Energy program, the Recycling program, the
Control of Air Pollution program, the Program on
Forest Conservation, etc.)
Summary and Next Steps
• Brazil opted for a gradual but progressive action
(depending on the Annex 1 Parties, specially the
U.S., actions)  Priority to National Inventory
• Next steps: National Plan for mitigation of GHG,
scientific research (specially vulnerability
studies;e.g., Sao Paulo University, Rio University
and the Ministry of Environment established a
center for the Study of the implications of climate
change on the environment in December/2000),
and capacity building (human resources)
Two other important issues
1)
•
•

2)
Lack of guidance/lack of debate
The action of NGOs
The establishment of transaction projects (private sector, NGOs)
National Forum on Climate Change (led by Brazil’s President) 
“hands on” societal involvement (e.g. first seminar last weekend =
800 people = scientists, NGOs, federal and state officials, private
sector)
Forests in the Kyoto Protocol: (“avoided deforestation”)
MMA is for X MRE is against
Amazonian States are for X Federal Government is against (but,
PETROBRAS forest plantation plan)
US is for X EU is against
Brazilian NGOs are for X European NGOs are against