Climate leadership is a major opportunity for Brazil on the global stage

This week’s Brazil Climate Summit in New York presents the country with a unique opportunity to position itself as a global leader in the fight against climate change, with leaders all over the world eager to see how Brazil will bring life to pledges made at last month’s Amazon Summit. 

Home to a wealth of natural resources, high-value minerals, and a major part of the world’s cattle and soy trade, as well as the Amazon, Cerrado, and other critical biomes, Brazil is ideally placed to take on this role. But, as most loss of nature in Brazil is caused by land conversion for agriculture, this transition must be driven by the country’s agribusiness sector, which wields considerable economic and political power.

Cattle ranching and soybeans are critical to Brazil’s economy, making up a large chunk of the country’s GDP. However, both pale in comparison to the Amazon’s economic value, which the World Bank estimates to be at least USD 317 billion per year. This value considers its role as a global climate regulator, the rainwater the region produces for agriculture and hydroelectric power across South America, along with the livelihoods it provides for rural communities.

There is therefore huge...