Understand the commitments made by Brazil at COP26

During a COP26, United Nations (UN) climate conference, the Brazilian government presented a new goal of 50% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and the neutralization of carbon emissions by 2050.

The number was higher than expected by experts. The international analyst at CNN Lourival Sant’anna explained that the initiatives presented by Brazil involve projects that preserve the native forest and also recover deforested areas.

But other nations were bothered by the lack of details in the Brazilian government’s proposal on how it intends to achieve the goals announced at COP26. Sant’anna made a calculation and found that there is controversy regarding the numbers announced by Brazil.

Based on the 2005 inventory, the country presented, in practice, the same commitment signed in 2015. See the table below:

Brazil’s Emissions and Targets

  • 2015 > 2.1 billion tons of CO2 — 43% = 1.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent
  • 2020 > 2.8 billion tons of CO2 — 43% = 1.6 billion tons of CO2 equivalent
  • 2021 > 2.4 billion tons of CO2 — 50% = 1.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent

“The criticism is that while other countries increased their percentages, Brazil did not increase. However, we started from a very high goal. In 2015, the United States had a target of 26% and we had a target of 43% — the European Union, 40%”, said Lourival Sant’anna.

Reference: CNN Brasil

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