The Brazilian Coalition on Climate, Forests and Agriculture and its more than 180 members that represent agribusiness, environmental protection entities and academia believe that the country has a lot to gain from staying in the Paris Agreement: the main international commitment on climate change.
The Paris Agreement represents an agenda of extensive opportunities. For rural producers, the commitment is seen as an important incentive to create mechanisms that are able to compensate producers that have a surplus of preserved areas in their properties, as a way to pay for the environmental service provided by these areas.
For forests and agriculture, the Agreement represents a clear sign towards a low carbon economy. A relevant part of the Brazilian economy is based on agribusiness, responsible for 23.5% of the National GDP and 19% of the formal jobs in the country. The sector is highly dependent upon climatic conditions to guarantee its productivity. Forests act as “sprinklers” of the Brazilian agriculture and to protect them is the best path to guarantee the sector’s continuity.
In global trade, Brazil, which today is responsible for 7% of the agricultural products in the planet, can attract more distinguishing features and competitiveness to its products. This would value its image and reputation and open new doors in international markets, which have been increasingly demanding producers to meet sustainability criteria.
All of these gains are possible results of Brazil’s support for the Paris Agreement combined with a national policy for the low carbon economy and coherent with the country’s trajectory as one of the leaders in international climate negotiations. The country has the obligation of keeping its leading role, out of respect for its history and responsibility to the planet.
Therefore, the Brazilian Coalition requests that the government considers the gains that the Paris Agreement can represent to many sectors of society. Thinking about the importance of this agenda, the Brazilian Coalition recently launched a vision for the future for forests and agriculture, in which the group members indicate goals for 2030 and 2050. For this reason, we believe that, in addition to continuing to support the global effort in reducing emissions, the country has to advance in this agenda as a long-term State policy for Brazil and the world.