The state of Rio de Janeiro will sign, at COP26, the adhesion to two groups of regional governments that assume commitments on issues such as climate change, biodiversity and sustainability. The main goal to be presented by the government of Rio de Janeiro at the global conference against climate change will be to increase the forest cover of the Atlantic Forest in the state from 30% to 40% by 2050.
To this end, the Forests of Tomorrow program foresees the reforestation of more than 5,000 hectares of Atlantic Forest in the state, with the planting of 2.5 million seedlings of species from the biome in conservation units and other scattered priority areas. through the territory of Rio de Janeiro. Among the goals that will be taken are still to conserve at least 30% of land and coastal waters by 2030 and revise the state action plan on climate change in line with the Paris Agreement objective of keeping the temperature rise at 1.5 °C.
Participation
The state will be represented tomorrow (7) by the Secretary of Environment and Sustainability, Thiago Pampolha, who will participate in the general assembly of the Under 2 regional government group. The coalition brings together regional governments from different countries for the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, including Brazilian states such as São Paulo and Pernambuco.
On the 8th, Rio de Janeiro will join Regions4, which also brings together subnational governments in support of environmental protection goals. The government of Rio de Janeiro will also adhere to the United Nations global emission reduction programs Race to Zero e Race to Resilience.
According to the Secretary of State for Environment and Sustainability, Rio has created 60 new Conservation Units since Brazil joined the Paris Agreement in 2015. The state has 36% of protected area and 40% of Atlantic Forest forest cover.
With the goal of increasing the Atlantic Forest forest cover by 10 percentage points, the government estimates that another 440,000 hectares will be restored, with the potential to absorb 159 million tons of carbon dioxide. The accumulation of this gas in the atmosphere is one of the causes of global warming, and preserved forests are able to absorb it. According to the secretariat, the state intends to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
In addition to presenting results and commitments in the fight against climate change, the state will invite participants from all over the world to Rio+30, an event that will celebrate, in 2022, the 30th anniversary of the realization of Eco92.
Reference: CNN Brasil
