Coalition furthers dialogues with government, Congress, third sector and private sector in space promoted by Brazilian society at COP25
In addition to UNFCCC official program events, the Brazilian Coalition also participated in various debates at the Brazil Climate Action Hub, a space funded by Institute for Climate and Society (iCS), in which representatives of the third sector, private sector, parliamentarians, subnational governments and the government itself discussed the climate issue in the Brazilian and Latin American context. Check out the highlights below:
Sectors of society and government interact
On December 9, Coalition co-facilitators participated in the panel “A dialogue on climate ambition” at the Brazil Climate Action Hub, sponsored by the Institute for Climate and Society (iCS). The debate was moderated by André Guimarães, Coalition cofacilitator, and the participation of David Alcolumbre (President of the Federal Senate), Ricardo Salles (Minister of the Environment), Joenia Wapichana (Federal Representative), Fernanda Hassem (subnational governments – Mayor of Brasiléia), Caetano Scannavino (civil society – Health and Joy), Luiz Cornacchioni (private sector – Abag) and Karina Penna (youth – Engagement).
After the participants spoke, the panel also received former Environment Ministers Marina Silva and Izabella Teixeira, as well as parliamentarians.
Agri-environmental convergence in congress
In the afternoon, on the 9th, Brazilian Coalition and partners promoted, in the Brazil Climate Action Hub, a series of conversations with the theme “How Brazil can prosper increasing production and reducing deforestation”. Joana Chiavari, associate director of Climate Policy Initiative, moderated the first table in the afternoon, with congress representatives from the Environmentalist and Agriculture Fronts, deputies Rodrigo Agostinho, Camilo Capiberibe and Zé Vitor. The discussion was about how to build an agri-environmental convergence agenda in the Brazilian Congress. In particular, the participants stressed the importance of closely monitoring the Provisional Measure (MP) of Land Regularization.
In addition, Mr. Zé Vitor stressed the importance of combating illegal deforestation. “This is a priority theme, we have to extinguish this practice,” he said. Capiberibe highlighted the importance of the search for convergence. “Although it seems unlikely, there are commonalities and it is possible to build agendas that meet interests on both sides. It’s not easy, but Brazil is waiting for solutions, ”he said.
Augustine recalled that the Bill on Payments for Environmental Services (PSA), was approved in the House, thanks to an agreement between the environmental and agricultural sectors, and now goes to the Senate. “Not the best text, but it was possible. We are talking about illegal deforestation, but I would just like to talk about deforestation, since in some states, even legal is very problematic, ”he said, noting that the dialogues promoted by Coalition members with the Ministries of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) and the Environment (MMA) are important and contribute to such issues being resumed, once there is consensus among the sectors.
Augustine also spoke of the importance of showing himself to the international community present at the COP, what Brazil has been doing positively. “It is important to put on the table how much we keep, not only what we have deforested. And that we all agree to fight illegality vehemently, ”he said. “We need to rush to pay (PSA) for those who do not clear areas that could be cleared. The landowner is the largest environmental partner in the world and needs to be paid for it or will not be able to take care of the forest. We need to do this together, ”agreeing with Guimarães’s proposal that parliament call all sectors to discuss land regularization.
Financing Sustainable Land Use
The second debate of the afternoon of December 9th addressed the issue of financing sustainable land use. Sidney Medeiros (Climate Change Coordinator at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply – MAPA), Joana Chiavari (CPI Associate Director – Climate Policy Initiative) and Raphael Stein (BNDES Environmental Department Manager) made up the table, which was moderated by Eduardo Bastos, LATAM Bayer Sustainability Director.
Joana started the conversation, presenting the data from analyzes that indicate that it is possible to double agricultural production without the need to expand the area. “For that we need sound policies. For example, aligning rural credit with compliance with the Forest Code, as sustainable agriculture provides a much larger public good. In this context, we have proposals and we are moving forward, with the support of the Coalition, and in dialogue with the ministries, ”he said.
Medeiros presented the results of the ABC Plan, the main credit line for financing low carbon agriculture in Brazil. It is part of the National Climate Change Policy, which has targets for the recovery of degraded pastures and the adoption of no-tillage and crop-livestock-forest integration systems, among other measures that are references to the Brazilian NDC (climate goal), under the Paris Agreement.
Stein recalled that consumer market pressure is a differential for compliance with the law. “The meat market has adapted to ensure traceability. Soy buyers should also require this guarantee of environmental quality, and there are negotiations to develop this market.
Fighting illegality in the Amazon
The third table of December 9th addressed the challenges of combating illegality in the Amazon, a theme that is part of the Possible Amazon iniatitive, of which the Coalition is a signatory. The table was moderated by André Guimarães, Coalition cofacilitator, and was attended by Brenda Brito (Imazon Research Associate), Marcello Brito (Chairman of the Board of the Brazilian Agribusiness Association – Abag) and Márcio Nappo (JBS Sustainability Director). They talked about tackling land grabbing and the challenges of meat traceability under the Coalition and other initiatives.
Brito addressed the impact that palm exploration has had on countries such as Indonesia. “This is an example of how illegal deforestation has destroyed the value of this country’s products abroad. That is why we need to solve the problem of land grabbing in the Amazon, ”he said. Nappo highlighted the value of traceability to consumers. “In land without owner it is not possible to track the product, and traceability is the modern way to tell the stories of this product,” he said.
Brenda said that Imazon has been addressing the issue since 2006 and sees that one of the main obstacles is the laws. “The legislation encourages this process of invasion and ordering of securities. It is a story that never seems to end. When there is a time limit for leaving the land, it is changed. And this is worse than allowing the self-declaration of tenure addressed in the MP currently under discussion. There is no other way: people have to be removed from the land where they are illegally”.
Guimarães said that “the legality of the Amazon is perhaps one of the most central issues we have to consider if we want to claim some kind of positive outcome for Brazil from the point of view of responding to the planet’s climate challenges.”
- Check out the Amazon Possible video about the event here.
Amazonian business initiatives
The Possible Amazon initiative was presented by Renata Piazzon (Arapyaú Institute’s Climate Change Executive Manager), Marina Grossi (World Business Council for Sustainable Development – CEBDS), Keyvan Macedo (Natura’s Senior Sustainability Manager) and André Guimarães on December 11th at the Brazil Climate Action Hub. The theme of the debate was the success stories of Natura, Votorantim and Ambev in their work in the region.
The Possible Amazon campaign is an initiative of several organizations, including the Brazilian Coalition, the Global Compact Brazil Network, System B and the Arapyaú Institute, which aims to become a movement of the Brazilian business sector for the construction of concrete proposals for the sustainable development of the Amazon.
Piazzon presented the initial mapping of companies operating in the Amazon. Keyvan Macedo, from Natura, showed the case of the Ekos line, which has been using Amazonian inputs for 20 years. Fábio Cirilo, from Votorantim presented the case of using açaí stone as a biofuel in the company’s cement kilns. Rodrigo Figueiredo of Ambev presented the story of sustainable development in the Amazon with Guarana Antarctica.
Global Climate Action
In a brief presentation on the stage for international debate, Global Climate Action, Arapyaú’s Renata Piazzon and Natura’s Kayvan Macedo presented the Possible Amazon initiative and showed the video that tells the story of the creation of the initiative. Click here to watch the video.
The presentation “A Dialogue for a Possible Amazon” can be seen in full here.
Press conference
The “Seja Legal com a Amazônia” campaign was the subject of a press conference on December 11 to introduce to journalists some dialogues between land grabbers obtained by the Federal Police. It was also launched a fact sheet) with the main information on land grabbing. Brenda Brito (Imazon), André Guimarães (Coalition) and Marcello Brito (Abag) were present at the table. You can see the press conference here.
Additional events
On December 6, Luiz Cornacchioni, Coalition co-facilitator, participated in the event “Amazon: Retrospective 2019” with representatives of IPAM Amazônia, Woods Hole Research Center and the government of Acre, in this place dedicated to Brazil, where he presented the campaign “Seja Legal com a Amazônia”, which unites agribusiness and NGO representatives in a request to the government for more effective actions to combat land grabbing in the region.
On the same day, at the Italian Pavilion, Cornacchioni represented the movement in the “Nature Based Solutions to Climate Change” debate organized by CDP Latin America. In moderation by Conservation International, the debate was also attended by representatives of Asia Pulp Paper Group and the government of Mexico. In addition to presenting the Coalition, Cornacchioni highlighted points where the movement has been acting, such as the implementation of the Forest Code, the Payment for Environmental Services (PSA) and the bioeconomy as pillars of a low carbon economy for the country.