Environment Minister criticizes COP27 organizers

In the midst of impasses over a final text for COP27, the Minister of the Environment, Joaquim Leite, stated that Egypt, which is hosting the Climate Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, did not know how to conduct the negotiations. “This year the management was very bad”, he said in an exclusive interview with CNN 🇧🇷

Leite said that the responsibility for articulating a multilateral agreement should lie with the presidency of the conference. “I think the Egyptian presidency lacked competence to create blocs to put pressure on the industrialized countries,” he said.

One of the main obstacles to closing an agreement is the implementation of a loss and damage mechanism to compensate the most vulnerable countries – often those that pollute the least – for the impacts of climate change.

The initial proposal is that developed countries would be responsible for financing the fund. But the European Union proposed, this Friday (18), that the funding come from a broad base of donors, who do not necessarily need to be only the richest, but also from nations with emerging economies and high emissions.

The lack of clear criteria to define the group casts doubt on the role of large emerging economies, such as Brazil. “It will likely be a frustration if we do not reach the end of this negotiation with a fund for losses and damages, with relevant resources and efficient instruments for the application of these resources”.

THE CNN asked for a response from the presidency of COP27 on the minister’s statement and awaits a position.

Methane Credit

The Brazilian minister signed a document this Friday (18th) to reinforce the creation of a methane credit market on the international scene. The proposal is part of the National Program for the Reduction of Methane from Organic Waste, launched last year, and aims to add value to biogas and biomethane projects.

Leite stated that Brazil treats only 1.5% of its organic waste and added that reducing gas consumption has great economic potential. “Compensating emissions, especially methane, bringing revenue to Brazil would be a great solution for us to get out of a liability and transform what is treating waste into an asset”, she said.

Methane is the main greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. Brazil is one of more than 150 countries that signed the Global Methane Commitment, after COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland. The agreement aims to reduce gas emissions in the world by 30% by 2030.