Climate and Development Lab
Connect with the CDL on Twitter:
  • Home
  • About
    • Authors
    • Alumni
  • CDL in the News
  • Publications
    • Scholarly Articles & Chapters
    • Policy Briefings
    • Books & Special Issues
    • Submissions to the UNFCCC
  • Projects
  • Multimedia
  • Contact

Despite multiple crises, Brazil signs the Paris climate agreement

4/27/2016

 
By Alice Amorim and Guy Edwards
Picture
Following Brazil’s decision to sign the Paris Agreement, the battle now shifts to persuading lawmakers that early ratification of the agreement and accompanying transition to a low-carbon economy represent an opportunity to build prosperity rather than a constraint.
In a surprise move last week, Brazil’s beleaguered President, Dilma Rousseff, signed the Paris climate agreement at the UN in New York. As the impeachment process against her accelerates, critics lambasted the trip as a cynical move to muster international support for her rapidly expiring presidency.

During President Dilma’s UN speech she focused on climate change and only briefly referred to the ‘grave’ moment facing Brazil while thanking leaders for expressing their solidarity to her. Dilma gave no indication of when the agreement might be ratified but simply stated her commitment for its prompt entry into force.

She described Brazil’s national climate plan including its goals to reduce emissions by 37 percent by 2025 and 43 percent by 2030, compared to 2005 levels. To meet those goals, Brazil proposes to eliminate illegal deforestation in the Amazon and intends to achieve a ratio of 45 percent of renewables in the energy mix by 2030, including expanding the use of renewables other than hydropower in the total energy mix to between 28 percent and 33 percent by 2030.

Brazil’s support of the Paris Agreement matters for the world and its own citizensDespite the deep crises confronting Brazil and its ailing president, the signing of the Paris Agreement and the ratification process are of vital importance to all Brazilians, and the international community.

As one of the world’s top ten emitters representing 2.48% of global emissions, Brazil can make a significant contribution to the agreement’s entry into force which requires ratification by at least 55 countries, accounting for at least 55% of total global emissions. The US and China which represent roughly 38% of global emissions have confirmed their intention of ratifying the agreement this year which gives it a good chance of entering into force within the next couple of years.

Brazil’s decision to back the agreement sends an important message to investors that the country is supporting action on climate change. Its potential for solar and wind is massive which could mean more investment and jobs; something the country urgently needs as it confronts a dire economic crisis.
However, despite this positive step, Brazil’s low-carbon transition remains elusive. The government may support the Paris Agreement but its climate and energy policies are lackluster.

Brazil’s national climate pledge won some praise for including an economy-wide emissions reduction target yet it has various shortcomings. The target of 37 percent reductions by 2025 means only a 4 percent reduction over the next decade. There is already existing legislation to stop all illegal deforestation across Brazil so a pledge to enforce the law (and only in the Amazon not nationally) over the next 15 years is inadequate. While the expansion of non-hydro renewables is welcome, the 45 percent share for renewables could be more ambitious given it is close to current levels.

The target does little to signal how the country will invest in solar and wind, and diversify its power sector away from a reliance on hydroelectricity, which is vulnerable to drought. The plan lacks details on the role of cities even though transport represents nearly half of Brazil's energy sector emissions. The pledge is a good starting point but its goals should be revised and increased prior to being resubmitted to the UN before 2020.

Some recent examples suggest Brazil has much to gain from backing a shift to a low carbon economy. It has been among the top ten developing countries for its ability to attract capital for clean energy. The New Development Bank announced it will provide $300 million to Brazil’s Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Economico e Social to help build 600 megawatts of renewable energy capacity. In December 2015, Brazil also approved its latest Ten-Year Energy Expansion Plan, which includes new solar energy targets for 2024 that are roughly double those of earlier plans.

Brazil’s economic and political crises and impeachment process raises questions about who might replace Dilma and what this could mean for the climate agenda. Brazil’s Vice President, Michel Temer, the man most likely to succeed Dilma, is closely aligned with the Federation of Industries of Sao Paulo (FIESP); a powerful player known for opposing strong action on climate change.

The political conditions for ratification are tough but not futileAny attempt to guess how the situation in Brazil might unfold is speculative. However, following the government’s decision to sign the Paris Agreement, procedure demands that it now goes to the National Congress where the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate will discuss ratification.

This week Minister of Environment Izabella Teixeira said the government hopes ratification could happen this year stressing that Brazil has commitments on climate change that go beyond any specific government. But it is unclear whether members of Congress appreciate the strategic opportunity for Brazil presented by the climate agenda and will support ratification.

The ratification process could be gobbled up by various committees led by conservative forces which are against action on climate change or left to collect dust given the focus on impeachment and the recession. The economic crisis could encourage politicians to push for carbon-intensive initiatives to stimulate economic growth. This would undermine emission reduction goals and also serve to strengthen the voices of those opposing a low-carbon transition which could undermine interest in the Paris Agreement and national climate policies.

Lawmakers aligned with the Vice President are moving ahead with measures that could sabotage a low-carbon transition. A well-known case is the so called “Agenda Brasil” that proposes to weaken environmental protection legislation to implement ‘fast track’ environment licensing procedure for large infrastructure projects.

Brazil’s elusive low-carbon transition runs the risk of fading further from sight. Yet, the signing of the Paris Agreement has opened a small yet invaluable window to generate a national conversation around the benefits of action on climate change and pressure Congress to start the ratification process.

The battle will therefore be to persuade lawmakers that the Paris Agreement and the necessary transition to a low carbon economy represent an opportunity for Brazil to build prosperity rather than a constraint.
The Paris Agreement is a vital tool to construct a cleaner and more resilient future for countries around the world. Brazil’s National Congress should act boldly to ratify the agreement and make that future a reality.

This article was originally published by Nivela 

Comments are closed.
    Tweets by @ClimateDevLab
    CDL in the News

    28 Dec 2018 - Edwards in the NYT on electric vehicles in Latin America

    24 Dec 2018 - The Public's Radio RI interviews Roberts on how the fossil fuel industry outspends environmental groups on campaign contributions & lobbying

    19 Dec 2018 - EcoRI News: New Report Claims RI Climate Council Falling Behind Targets

    17 Dec 2018 - 'We must move beyond business as usual,' says new report on Rhode Island's inadequate climate plan.

    12 Dec 2018 - 
    Isabel Cavelier, Guy Edwards and Lina Puerto “COP25 en 2019: reto y oportunidad para elevar la ambición climática en América Latina” El Espectador

    4 Dec 2018 - Whitehouse, Ciciline meet with climate lab

    28 Nov 2018 - Edwards quoted in New York Times story on Brazil backing out of hosting UN summit on climate change

    11 Oct 2018 - Brookings Institute Climate reality requires starting at home: Weaning from fossil fuels

    23 Sep 2018 - Edwards quoted in Financial Times on Argentina energy future

    13 Jul 2018 - Europe and Latin America can blaze a trail on implementing the Paris Agreement
    ​
    1 Jun 2018 - Brookings Institute One year since Trump's withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement

    21 May 2018 - Edwards article in World Politics Review: Is the G-20 Heading for a Showdown With Trump on Climate Change?

    11 May 2018 - Edwards Op-Ed in Washington Post 

    22 Jan 2018 - Roberts Op-Ed The climate solution no-one in Davos will be talking about

    ​15 Dec 2017 - Edwards' article on how Regional and domestic politics could sabotage Brazil's bid to host UN climate change talks in 2019 ​
    ​
    8 Nov 2017 - Roberts quoted in Reuters story on financing loss and damage

    9 Oct 2017 - EcoRI article describes Roberts' testimony against the natural gas power plant proposed for construction in Burrillville, Rhode Island

    17 Sep 2017 - BBC Radio 5 featured a live interview with Roberts about Trump's conditions for staying in Paris

    4 Sep 2017 - Roberts comments on the use of his work in a report by Rhode Island Department of Health on the proposed power plant in Burrillville, Rhode Island 

    17 Jul 2017 - Roberts mentioned in NPR's story on the US having a say in UN climate spending
    ​
    15 Jul 2017 - Roberts calls for solid climate policies in RI

    5 Jul 2017 - Roberts demands swifter action on CO2 release

    5 Jul 2017 - Roberts demands RI Governor Raimondo to take climate action

    30 Jun 2017 - Roberts gives advice on owning and using electric cars

    23 Jun 2017 - Roberts comments on how voters are persuaded by the terms 'climate change' and 'global warming'

    20 Jun 2017 - Roberts' involvement in local climate group is helping to fight fossil fuel development

    3 Jun 2017 - WPRO Radio's Steve Klamkin interviews Roberts on the Paris Agreement

    2 Jun 2017 - Roberts comments on US involvement in the Green Climate Fund

    2 Jun 2017 - BBC Radio 5's Faye Rusco interviews Roberts on Trump's withdrawal from Paris

    2 Jun 2017 - Roberts discusses the role of mayors and private sector companies post US pull-out of Paris

    1 Jun 2017 - Roberts gives more details about the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement

    1 Jun 2017 - Roberts organizes emergency protest in RI

    1 Jun 2017 - Roberts comments on the implications of US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement

    1 Jun 20117 - Roberts share his views on the US exit from the Paris Accord

    31 May 2017 - Roberts cited on the far-reaching implications of US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement

    31 May 2017 - RI left vulnerable if US pulls out of Paris Accord, says Roberts

    24 May 2017 - Roberts chimes in on Trump's proposed EPA budget

    30 Apr 2017 - Roberts helps to 'fact check' Trump's first 100 days in office

    25 Apr 2017 - Roberts lobbies for people's march in RI to mark Trump's first 100 days in office

    23 Apr 2017 - Roberts cautions against threats to science at march for science in Rhode Island

    7 Apr 2017 - White House Chronicle's Llewelyn King interviews Roberts on Trump’s executive order and climate policy directions

    10 Mar 2017 - Roberts quoted in Providence Business News about new proposed fossil fuel infrastructure in Rhode Island

    6 Feb 2017 - Devex article on climate finance under the new administration quotes Roberts

    18 Jan 2017 - Roberts featured in NPR Marketplace segment on Obama's $500m donation to the Green Climate Fund

    29 Dec 2016 - Roberts quoted in Common Dreams article about the state of environmental justice in 2016

    19 Nov 2016 - EcoRI profiles Roberts and the new Civic Alliance for a Cooler Rhode Island

    14 Nov 2016 - Roberts featured in Rhode Island Public Radio segment on Trump and the Paris Agreement 

    12 Nov 2016 - Roberts quoted in Climate Home article on Republican plans to defund climate change programs

    10 Nov 2016 - Roberts quote appears in EcoRI article about Trump and the environment 

    9 Nov 2016 - Roberts quoted in InsideClimate News article on COP22 reaction to Trump's election

    9 Nov 2016 - Science Daily discusses new CDL article on paying for loss and damage

    9 Nov 2016 - Roberts quoted in Climate Home article on COP22 reaction to Trump's election

    8 Nov 2016 - Roberts' paper on paying for loss and damage discussed and quoted in Phys.Org

    7 Nov 2016 - Roberts' paper on paying for loss and damage discussed and quoted in Futurity article

    21 Sep 2016 - Roberts quoted in a Breitbart News article about Clinton's support following shift in climate change language

    20 Sep 2016 - Roberts quoted in a Climate Home article on Clinton's language around climate change after Sanders' endorsement

    5 May 2016 – Climate Home quotes Edwards on the announcement that Patricia Espinosa will lead the UNFCCC from this July 

    5 May 2016 - Dialogo Chino quotes Edwards following announcement that Patricia Espinosa will replace Christiana Figueres as head of the UNFCCC

    24 Apr 2016 - Deutsche Welle quotes Edwards on how ratifying Paris Agreement can boost prosperity in Latin America

    23 Mar 2016 – Edwards provides extended quote to Dialogo Chino on Obama’s trip to Cuba and Argentina
     
    25 Dec 2015 -  ConexiónCOP conversó con Guy Edwards sobre el nuevo acuerdo climático y America Latina

    14 Dec 2015 - Rhode Island Public Radio quotes Roberts on how Paris Climate Pact should steer New England toward clean energy

    11 Dec 2015 - Associated Press quotes Romain Weikmans on “Wild West” account on climate finance

    10 Dec 2015 -  Climate Home talks to Roberts about the lack of an independent system on climate finance

    Read more...

    Archives

    April 2023
    October 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    June 2021
    January 2021
    December 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    April 2012
    December 2011
    February 2009
    December 2008

    Authors

    The pieces featured in the blog are authored by CDL members and a diverse group of partners from around the world. The opinions expressed in these articles are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not reflect those of Brown University. 

    Categories

    All
    Civil Society
    Climate Finance
    Conference
    COP17
    COP19
    COP20
    COP21
    Energy
    Equity
    Latin America
    LDCs
    Legislation
    Loss And Damage
    Mitigation
    Policy Brief
    Publications
    Rhode Island
    Small Island Developing States
    UNFCCC
    United States

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly