Brazil fudges the numbers in latest climate pledge

Wildifre in Pará state: Amazon deforestation is rising at unprecedented levels. Photo: Paralaxis/Shutterstock

Hailed as a “historical document” by then-United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon, the Paris Agreement of December 2015 became the first global climate agreement since 1997, when nations came together to draft the Kyoto Protocol.

This month, the agreement turns five years old as the signatory countries submit new versions of the commitments they pledged to in 2015. On Tuesday, Environment Minister Ricardo Salles announced that Brazil aims to neutralize its greenhouse gas emissions by 2060.

He went on to declare that this 40-year deadline could be brought forward, providing Brazil receives USD 10 billion every year from developed countries to support Brazilian climate policies. However, the details of Brazil’s new climate goals were only submitted on Wednesday, and the data caused alarm among environmentalists.

Analysis from the Observatório do Clima, a network made up of 56 civil society organizations, shows that the new goal will allow Brazil to reach 2030 emitting 400 million tons of greenhouse gases more than originally forecast. The new proposal also dismisses important commitments, such as reducing deforestation in the Amazon region.