BrazilWorks
Information and Analysis about United States-Brazil Relations
Information and Analysis about United States-Brazil Relations
Climate Change
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| Key Documents in Portuguese |
| Brazil Defends Bio-fuels at Copenhagen |
The Economics of Climate Change
by Nicholas Stern
Climate Change Architectures for the
Post-Kyoto World
by Joseph Aldy and Robert Stavins
Economic Incentives in a New Climate
Agreement
by Joseph Aldy and Robert Stavins
Blueprint for a Sustainable Energy Partnership
for the Americas
The Centre for International Governance Innovation
(CIGI) located in Waterloo,
Canada (CIGI); the Council on Foreign Relations
(CFR) in New York, US;
The Brazilian Centre for International Relations
(CEBRI), in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and the Institute of
International Relations at the University of the West
Indies (IIR UWI) in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
Roadmap for a Secure, Low-Carbon Energy
Economy
World Resources Institute and the Center for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
January 2009
CLIMATE CHANGE: Expert Opinion on the
Economics of Policy Options to Address
Climate Change
U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO)
Brazil and Climate Change
POSITIVE INCENTIVES FOR VOLUNTARY ACTION IN
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO ADDRESS CLIMATE
CHANGE: BRAZILIAN PERSPECTIVE ON REDUCING
EMISSIONS FROM DEFORESTATION
Government of
Brazil
Brazil's Initial National Communication to the
United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, 2004
Tropical Forest, Deforestation and Climate
Change: The Amazon Case
by Paulo Moutinho
Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia
Climate Change and Sustainable Development
Strategies: A Brazilian Perspective
by Emilio Lèbre La Rovere and published by the OECD,
2001
Brazil and the Politics of Climate Change
Negotiations
Ken Johnson
Journal of Environment and Development, 2001.
,
POSITIVE INCENTIVES FOR VOLUNTARY ACTION IN
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES TO ADDRESS CLIMATE
CHANGE: BRAZILIAN PERSPECTIVE ON REDUCING
EMISSIONS FROM DEFORESTATION
Government of
Brazil
Brazil's Initial National Communication to the
United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, 2004
Tropical Forest, Deforestation and Climate
Change: The Amazon Case
by Paulo Moutinho
Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia
Climate Change and Sustainable Development
Strategies: A Brazilian Perspective
by Emilio Lèbre La Rovere and published by the OECD,
2001
Brazil and the Politics of Climate Change
Negotiations
Ken Johnson
Journal of Environment and Development, 2001.
,
PLANO
NACIONAL
SOBRE
MUDANÇA DO
CLIMA
Governo do
Brasil, 2008
Communicação
Nacional Inicial
do Brasil à
Convenção-Quad
ro das Nações
Unidas sobre
Mundança do
Clima
Coordenação-Gera
l de Mudanças
Globais de Clima,
Ministério de
Ciência e
Tecnologia
Governo do
Brazil, 2004
Manifesto por
uma posição
consistente do
governo
brasileiro frente
à mudança do
clima
Observatório do
Clima
NACIONAL
SOBRE
MUDANÇA DO
CLIMA
Governo do
Brasil, 2008
Communicação
Nacional Inicial
do Brasil à
Convenção-Quad
ro das Nações
Unidas sobre
Mundança do
Clima
Coordenação-Gera
l de Mudanças
Globais de Clima,
Ministério de
Ciência e
Tecnologia
Governo do
Brazil, 2004
Manifesto por
uma posição
consistente do
governo
brasileiro frente
à mudança do
clima
Observatório do
Clima
| The Amazon Challenge Compensated Reductions: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Slowing Tropical Deforestation Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia (IPAM) The Amazon’s Vicious Cycles World Wildlife Federation |
| Brazilians Take on Global Warming and Steal the Show |
| BrazilWorks P.O. Box 65630 Washington, D.C. 20035 Tel. 202-744-0072 www.brazilworks.org |
Written by Mark S. Langevin
Brazzil Magazine
Brazilians take global warming seriously, much more than the rest of the world. The
recently published 2009 Pew Global Attitudes Project survey of twenty five
prominent nation-states, including the United States, China, India, France, Kenya, and
Poland among many others, now confirms that Brazil is now the world leader in
concern over global warming.
The Pew survey reveals Brazil's highest affirmative response rate to the question: Is
global warming a serious problem? 90 percent of Brazilians think so, by far the
highest proportion of any country in the study. Argentina ranks second with 69
percent, the U.S. response is well behind at 44%, and China is last in this survey with
only 30 percent of the respondents troubled by greenhouse gas emissions.
Since the election of President Lula in 2002, Brazilians have become increasingly
aware of national and global environmental problems, from the impact of land use
practices in the Cerrado to deforestation in the Amazon.
President Lula told Reuters that Brazil was open to adopting targets for greenhouse
gas reductions, "the issue is not a taboo for us.", thus reflecting the national
preoccupation with global warming and all but reversing the country's adamant
opposition to adopting emission reduction targets.
Brazilians did not always share such a unique perspective on the global warming
challenge. Before Lula's election, only 20 percent of the population expressed
concern for the environment according to the Pew Center. By 2007 this number had
jumped to 49%, the largest increase of the survey. According to Larry Rohter of the
New York Times,
"The factors behind the re-evaluation range from a drought here in the Amazon rain
forest, the world's largest, and the impact that it could have on agriculture if it recurs,
to new phenomena like a hurricane in the south of Brazil. As a result, environmental
advocates, scientists and some politicians say, Brazilian policy makers and the public
they serve are increasingly seeing climate change not as a distant problem, but as one
that could affect them too."
Climate change is now front and center in Brazil. Members of Congress from all
political parties race to affiliate with the environmental caucus and co-sponsor "green"
legislation. The former Minister of the Environment under Lula, Workers Party
Senator and former Amazon rubber tapper, Marina Silva, is now considering an
invitation from the Green Party to run as their presidential nominee in 2010.
Even S.O.S. Mata Atlântica, a prominent environmental advocacy organization, is
running humorous television ads asking Brazilians to "piss in the shower" to save
millions of liters of fresh water in a campaign to preserve the Atlantic coast's
dwindling rainforest.
Dare to compare Brazil with the U.S.?
During the same period from 2002 to 2007, the U.S. level of environmental concern
rose from 23 to 37 percent, but alarm over global warming decreased from 47
percent in 2007 to 44 in 2009 as the economy crumbled. Although President Obama
and the Democratic Party passed the controversial American Clean Energy and
Security Act of 2009 (known as Waxman-Markey) in the House of Representatives by
a very close vote; efforts to pass a climate change bill in the Senate face stiff
opposition.
In fact, the ranking Republican member of the key Environment and Public Works
committee responsible for developing climate change legislation, Senator James
Inhofe of Oklahoma, doubts the scientific findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) which jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S.
Vice-President Al Gore in 2007. In 2003 Sen. Inhofe remarked that global warming
was the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people."
Of course, there are other countries in the Pew Center survey that also play down
the threat of global warming, including the very large greenhouse gas emitters China
and Canada, yes Canada! However, the public opinion gap between Brazil and the
U.S. may prove to be a major obstacle in galvanizing international cooperation to
reduce emissions.
48 percent of Brazilians are willing to pay higher prices (for energy, food, etc.) to
address global warming, compared to only 41 percent for the U.S. Even more
interesting, 79 percent of Brazilians are willing to tolerate slower economic growth
and job creation to protect the environment compared to 64 percent for the U.S.
With respect to who is most trusted to deal with global warming, 57 percent of U.S.
citizens believe the U.S. is the most trustworthy while only 17 percent of Brazilians
place their faith in U.S. leadership. Of the countries studied, only Israel, Kenya, and
Nigeria place more than 40 percent confidence in the U.S. on climate matters.
Even more telling, Brazil ranks high in the list of countries who blame the U.S. for
global warming. 49 percent of the Brazilians single out the U.S. Only Turkey and
Bangladesh (61%), Spain (56%), Venezuela and Slovakia (55%), France (53%), and
Indonesia (52%) surpass Brazil suspicions. Evidently, these numbers partially reflect
the animosity unleashed by President George W. Bush's withdrawal from the Kyoto
Protocol in 2001.
Brazil's recent and very rapid increase in public awareness stands in sharp contrast
with the partisan rancor and controversy surrounding U.S. efforts to confront global
warming. Moreover, Brazilians about-face is now bearing down on domestic policy
making. The government's Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon
(PPCDAM) got off to a slow start, but is now showing measurable results.
No doubt this effort has its critics, but Brazil's National Institute for Space Research
confirms that the rate of Amazon deforestation is slowing. Also, the current Minister
of the Environment, Carlos Minc, announced in June that President Lula himself would
directly participate in efforts to stop deforestation by visiting Amazon communities
involved in sustainable production. Even Brazil's Army is joining the campaign to stop
deforestation!
These efforts highlight Brazil's broader commitment to protect the Amazon and play a
leading role in climate change negotiations at Copenhagen. They are now coupled
with international campaigns to diminish the external threats to the rainforest.
Greenpeace's recent campaign, "Slaughtering the Amazon," has already pressured such
companies as Nike to "certify" that leather used in the company's products does not
come from cattle herding in the Amazon.
Taken together, Brazilians' concern with global warming, the Lula administration's
increasing commitment to stop deforestation, international efforts, such as the
Amazon Fund, to assist the country with sustainable development in the Amazon, and
Brazil's historic leadership of the G-77 nations in climate change talks add up to a
prominent position at this year's Conference of the Parties to the United Nations
Framework on Climate Change negotiations in Copenhagen or COP15. Indeed, the
U.S. Climate Change envoy, Todd Stern, recently visited Brasilia for talks with the
government and remarked,
"And I think that an issue like this, which is of enormous importance to the world ...
is an ideal opportunity for Brazil to demonstrate leadership on the global stage. And if
you want to be a global player, that's what you have to do."
According to the Pew Center, over 180 million Brazilians have weighed in are now
ready to take the stage and steal the show.
Brazzil Magazine
Brazilians take global warming seriously, much more than the rest of the world. The
recently published 2009 Pew Global Attitudes Project survey of twenty five
prominent nation-states, including the United States, China, India, France, Kenya, and
Poland among many others, now confirms that Brazil is now the world leader in
concern over global warming.
The Pew survey reveals Brazil's highest affirmative response rate to the question: Is
global warming a serious problem? 90 percent of Brazilians think so, by far the
highest proportion of any country in the study. Argentina ranks second with 69
percent, the U.S. response is well behind at 44%, and China is last in this survey with
only 30 percent of the respondents troubled by greenhouse gas emissions.
Since the election of President Lula in 2002, Brazilians have become increasingly
aware of national and global environmental problems, from the impact of land use
practices in the Cerrado to deforestation in the Amazon.
President Lula told Reuters that Brazil was open to adopting targets for greenhouse
gas reductions, "the issue is not a taboo for us.", thus reflecting the national
preoccupation with global warming and all but reversing the country's adamant
opposition to adopting emission reduction targets.
Brazilians did not always share such a unique perspective on the global warming
challenge. Before Lula's election, only 20 percent of the population expressed
concern for the environment according to the Pew Center. By 2007 this number had
jumped to 49%, the largest increase of the survey. According to Larry Rohter of the
New York Times,
"The factors behind the re-evaluation range from a drought here in the Amazon rain
forest, the world's largest, and the impact that it could have on agriculture if it recurs,
to new phenomena like a hurricane in the south of Brazil. As a result, environmental
advocates, scientists and some politicians say, Brazilian policy makers and the public
they serve are increasingly seeing climate change not as a distant problem, but as one
that could affect them too."
Climate change is now front and center in Brazil. Members of Congress from all
political parties race to affiliate with the environmental caucus and co-sponsor "green"
legislation. The former Minister of the Environment under Lula, Workers Party
Senator and former Amazon rubber tapper, Marina Silva, is now considering an
invitation from the Green Party to run as their presidential nominee in 2010.
Even S.O.S. Mata Atlântica, a prominent environmental advocacy organization, is
running humorous television ads asking Brazilians to "piss in the shower" to save
millions of liters of fresh water in a campaign to preserve the Atlantic coast's
dwindling rainforest.
Dare to compare Brazil with the U.S.?
During the same period from 2002 to 2007, the U.S. level of environmental concern
rose from 23 to 37 percent, but alarm over global warming decreased from 47
percent in 2007 to 44 in 2009 as the economy crumbled. Although President Obama
and the Democratic Party passed the controversial American Clean Energy and
Security Act of 2009 (known as Waxman-Markey) in the House of Representatives by
a very close vote; efforts to pass a climate change bill in the Senate face stiff
opposition.
In fact, the ranking Republican member of the key Environment and Public Works
committee responsible for developing climate change legislation, Senator James
Inhofe of Oklahoma, doubts the scientific findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) which jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize with former U.S.
Vice-President Al Gore in 2007. In 2003 Sen. Inhofe remarked that global warming
was the "greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people."
Of course, there are other countries in the Pew Center survey that also play down
the threat of global warming, including the very large greenhouse gas emitters China
and Canada, yes Canada! However, the public opinion gap between Brazil and the
U.S. may prove to be a major obstacle in galvanizing international cooperation to
reduce emissions.
48 percent of Brazilians are willing to pay higher prices (for energy, food, etc.) to
address global warming, compared to only 41 percent for the U.S. Even more
interesting, 79 percent of Brazilians are willing to tolerate slower economic growth
and job creation to protect the environment compared to 64 percent for the U.S.
With respect to who is most trusted to deal with global warming, 57 percent of U.S.
citizens believe the U.S. is the most trustworthy while only 17 percent of Brazilians
place their faith in U.S. leadership. Of the countries studied, only Israel, Kenya, and
Nigeria place more than 40 percent confidence in the U.S. on climate matters.
Even more telling, Brazil ranks high in the list of countries who blame the U.S. for
global warming. 49 percent of the Brazilians single out the U.S. Only Turkey and
Bangladesh (61%), Spain (56%), Venezuela and Slovakia (55%), France (53%), and
Indonesia (52%) surpass Brazil suspicions. Evidently, these numbers partially reflect
the animosity unleashed by President George W. Bush's withdrawal from the Kyoto
Protocol in 2001.
Brazil's recent and very rapid increase in public awareness stands in sharp contrast
with the partisan rancor and controversy surrounding U.S. efforts to confront global
warming. Moreover, Brazilians about-face is now bearing down on domestic policy
making. The government's Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Amazon
(PPCDAM) got off to a slow start, but is now showing measurable results.
No doubt this effort has its critics, but Brazil's National Institute for Space Research
confirms that the rate of Amazon deforestation is slowing. Also, the current Minister
of the Environment, Carlos Minc, announced in June that President Lula himself would
directly participate in efforts to stop deforestation by visiting Amazon communities
involved in sustainable production. Even Brazil's Army is joining the campaign to stop
deforestation!
These efforts highlight Brazil's broader commitment to protect the Amazon and play a
leading role in climate change negotiations at Copenhagen. They are now coupled
with international campaigns to diminish the external threats to the rainforest.
Greenpeace's recent campaign, "Slaughtering the Amazon," has already pressured such
companies as Nike to "certify" that leather used in the company's products does not
come from cattle herding in the Amazon.
Taken together, Brazilians' concern with global warming, the Lula administration's
increasing commitment to stop deforestation, international efforts, such as the
Amazon Fund, to assist the country with sustainable development in the Amazon, and
Brazil's historic leadership of the G-77 nations in climate change talks add up to a
prominent position at this year's Conference of the Parties to the United Nations
Framework on Climate Change negotiations in Copenhagen or COP15. Indeed, the
U.S. Climate Change envoy, Todd Stern, recently visited Brasilia for talks with the
government and remarked,
"And I think that an issue like this, which is of enormous importance to the world ...
is an ideal opportunity for Brazil to demonstrate leadership on the global stage. And if
you want to be a global player, that's what you have to do."
According to the Pew Center, over 180 million Brazilians have weighed in are now
ready to take the stage and steal the show.
Suggested Reading
CLIMATE CHANGE:
Brazil Defends Biofuels
By Claudia Ciobanu*
COPENHAGEN, Dec 9 (IPS/TerraViva) - Being the world’s largest
producer and exporter of ethanol it is natural for the Brazilian
government and its partners to push biofuels as the only real
alternative for a world trying wean itself away from fossil fuels that
contribute to global warming.
Brazilian authorities were ready with their arguments at the United
Nations climate change summit underway here. Over the past 30
years, since the country embarked on its ethanol programme, an
estimated 800 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions have been
avoided.
Brazilian delegates were at pains to show that not only is biofuel
production the best way to reduce greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions
but can also combat poverty as exemplified by the country’s scheme
to promote micro-distilleries to provide additional income for rural
families.
Biofuels have, however, come under serious attack in recent years
for eating into farmlands meant for food production. As a result, the
European Union backed out, last year, from a commitment to
introduce a 10 percent mandatory quota of biofuels in all
transportation by 2020.
In Brazil itself environmentalists have pointed to biofuel production
as one of the key reasons for the steady deforestation of the
Amazon basin.
Countering such criticism Jose Migues from the Brazilian ministry of
science and technology said: "We were told that biofuels lead to
deforestation in the Amazon, but the ethanol production areas are
3,000 km away from the Amazon.’’ Read More.
Brazil Defends Biofuels
By Claudia Ciobanu*
COPENHAGEN, Dec 9 (IPS/TerraViva) - Being the world’s largest
producer and exporter of ethanol it is natural for the Brazilian
government and its partners to push biofuels as the only real
alternative for a world trying wean itself away from fossil fuels that
contribute to global warming.
Brazilian authorities were ready with their arguments at the United
Nations climate change summit underway here. Over the past 30
years, since the country embarked on its ethanol programme, an
estimated 800 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions have been
avoided.
Brazilian delegates were at pains to show that not only is biofuel
production the best way to reduce greenhouse gas (GhG) emissions
but can also combat poverty as exemplified by the country’s scheme
to promote micro-distilleries to provide additional income for rural
families.
Biofuels have, however, come under serious attack in recent years
for eating into farmlands meant for food production. As a result, the
European Union backed out, last year, from a commitment to
introduce a 10 percent mandatory quota of biofuels in all
transportation by 2020.
In Brazil itself environmentalists have pointed to biofuel production
as one of the key reasons for the steady deforestation of the
Amazon basin.
Countering such criticism Jose Migues from the Brazilian ministry of
science and technology said: "We were told that biofuels lead to
deforestation in the Amazon, but the ethanol production areas are
3,000 km away from the Amazon.’’ Read More.