EU-Mercosur deal will support sustainable trade, says ambassador to Brazil

The European Union ambassador to Brazil, Ignacio Ybáñez, said this Tuesday (16) that the trade agreement between the bloc and the Mercosur will support sustainable trade between the two parties.

In an event of the National Confederation of Industry (CNI ), the ambassador said that the agreement will seek to create “sustainability and resilience in bilateral value chains”.

“The European Union is firmly committed to signing the agreement as soon as conditions allow. We have in the agreement the most progressive chapter in terms of trade and sustainable development”, he pointed out.

According to Ybáñez, we still need to “redouble our engagement with our Mercosur partners to find lasting solutions to face the threats posed by deforestation”.

He said the bloc is working specifically with Brazil to create additional instruments that clarify commitments in the area of ​​deforestation, with the expectation of achieving “concrete policies and progress”.

“The commitments assumed by Brazil at COP26 are a very positive step, but it is important to translate the commitments into concrete results. One of these challenges is deforestation, which is due to the expansion of agricultural production,” he defended.

“The European Union is a major consumer of these products, and we want to prevent products derived from deforestation from being sold on the EU market,” he said.

Event discusses green economy

During the event on the green economy, the president of the CNI, Robson Braga de Andrade, defended that the Brazilian strategy to combat climate change should be based on four pillars: “energy transition, low carbon market, circular economy and forest preservation” .

“Brazil plays an important role in the negotiations of the Paris Agreement, and this prominent position is the result of a series of initiatives adopted by the government and companies. Renewable sources are almost 50% of the Brazilian energy matrix, one of the cleanest in the world”, he highlighted.

For Andrade, Brazil “has conditions to attract climate finance resources that would be important to consolidate our trajectory towards a green economy”.

Also during the event, the Minister of the Environment Joaquim Leite stated that the country is part of the solution to combat to climate change.

Leite defended that it is necessary to “encourage, create a new green economy, neutral in emissions by 2050”.