It’s time to fulfill the commitments made by the country at the COP26

The message was clear: action must be taken now. A true march towards COP26 brought together more than 30 thousand people from all over the world in what will have been the most important of all the Climate Conferences.

The thousands of voices reinforced the urgent tone and boosted negotiations that took important steps. The most emblematic was the approval of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which establishes a global market for carbon credits.

Now, the task is to regulate what was agreed upon. On the other hand, the path of climate finance to developing countries did not prove to be as firm as expected. This topic deserves special attention, since the vulnerable are the most affected by the impacts of the climate emergency.

The fact is that a perfect agreement does not exist when 200 countries are involved in the assembly. However, there were undeniable advances, especially compared to the frustration at the end of the COP in Madrid. That feeling, allied to the more defensive attitude towards the environmental issue that Brazil had been adopting in recent years, contributed to drive the greatest national mobilization for a Climate Conference.

Academia, NGOs, indigenous peoples and young people, parliamentarians and subnational leaders, private initiative, among others, represented civil society well in Glasgow, demonstrating that Brazilians are aligned with global concerns. This certainly positively influenced the government and negotiators present in the Scottish city.

It must be recognized that Brazil’s first bids at COP26, where it arrived at the risk of diplomatic isolation, controlled damage and prevented it from bringing an even more scratched image in its return baggage.

Adherence to the Agreement on Forests and Land Use and the initiative on methane gas emissions, added to the NDC review, with an announcement of carbon neutrality by 2050 and an end to illegal deforestation by 2028, signaled a realignment process with a more constructive attitude in debates about the environment.

The world has its eye on Brazil, and we will need to fulfill the announced commitments. The most challenging and urgent, without a shadow of a doubt, is the fight against illegal deforestation.

This crime impacts nature and conditions for human survival, affecting water availability, food production, CO₂ absorption and energy generation, for example. Furthermore, it aggravates our already damaged environmental reputation internationally.

This lack of control does not generate GDP and is an absolutely negative agenda for the Brazilian people.

We don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Since Rio-92, Brazil has shown that it is possible to overcome the challenge of deforestation. This involved the creation of IBAMA and the Ministry of the Environment, as well as training of inspectors and investments in command and control. Between 2004 and 2012, the country was an example of success in reducing deforestation.

Today, we are able to go further and bet on sustainable development. Paying for environmental services is one way out: from small farmers to large companies, they are remunerated for conserving native forest, caring for springs and preserving biodiversity, for example.

Keeping the Amazon forest standing is profitable. With a regulated market for carbon credits on, it is estimated that we could have earnings of up to $10 billion per year.

While inducing care for natural resources, it generates amounts that could bring basic sanitation, health and telecommunications services, among others, to the 25 million Brazilians living in the region.

Betting on the bioeconomy is another important tool to encourage green and scalable businesses.

By fulfilling its commitments in the climate and sustainability agenda, Brazil will naturally return to the role it has already played, but this time with a greater possibility of influencing the definition of new rules and designs for the architecture of the international system itself.

This will be decisive not only for promoting our national interests in the most diverse dimensions, such as trade and development, but also for defending us from the growing risks that, under the guise of environmental protection, protectionist practices are strengthened.

It’s time to honor the commitments made during COP26. The living forces of society call on the Interministerial Committee on Climate Change and Green Growth to play its indispensable role in this task of making our goals and commitments viable.

Civil society needs to remain mobilized. The national private sector is prepared to do its part. Now, what resolves is to act.