OECD approves roadmap for Brazil’s entry, but says it will evaluate environmental policy

The OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) council of ministers approved, this Friday (10), the roadmap for Brazil’s accession to the organization. The decision was taken during the entity’s ministerial meeting, held in Paris.

In addition to Brazil, the OECD gave the green light for the advancement of the entry process of four other countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Peru and Romania.

Approval of the accession roadmap —called in English as a “roadmap”—is another step in the negotiations for a new member to be accepted into the organization. Brazil’s entry into the “rich countries club” is one of the main goals of the Jair Bolsonaro government (PL) in the area of ​​foreign policy.

Brazil’s application for membership was made during the Michel Temer government (MDB), in 2017.

OECD members are committed to complying with good practices for the functioning of their governments and economies.

The current members of the organization accepted that Brazil and other countries formally begin negotiations for joining the club in January of this year. Argentina was also in the group, but the issue was no longer a priority in the government of leftist leader Alberto Fernández.

The negotiation process is expected to last at least two years, and may be extended. This is because the average for the last members to complete the process was four years.

Confirmation of entry depends on a consensus of the 38 countries that make up the OECD.

To be successful, Brazil will need to adhere to a series of regulatory instruments of the entity, in addition to having its candidacy analyzed in several committees.

In the accession roadmap, the OECD listed several items that will be analyzed in technical reviews during the negotiations for the country’s accession.

The entity highlighted the environment, a field in which Bolsonaro is criticized in Brazil and abroad due to the increase in deforestation in the Amazon and hostile statements to indigenous communities.

The “roadmap” states that, among other points, how Brazil intends to guarantee the effective protection of the environment and biodiversity will be evaluated; and how the country plans to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

According to the entity, this includes the analysis of economic measures “aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, particularly the goal of achieving neutrality of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 through the reduction of emissions made possible by public sector investments. and private”.

“This also includes the importance of each country adopting and implementing public policies in line with its climate goals, including reversing the loss of biodiversity and deforestation agreed during COP26 in Glasgow, as well as effective actions to translate these goals into practical measures.” , says the approved script.

After the meeting in Paris, Itamaraty, the Civil House and the Ministry of Economy released a joint note in which they say that “a step forward in the process of expanding the OECD” has been taken.

“With the approval of the ‘accession roadmap’, Brazil will be responsible for writing an ‘initial memorandum’ with information on the country’s convergence with the organization’s normative instruments. organization. At this stage, Brazil will have the opportunity to revisit national policies and initiatives in the light of OECD guidelines and recommendations,” the statement reads.

“The accession process thus reinforces the Brazilian government’s commitment to the modernization of the state, sustainable development and the improvement of the quality of life of all Brazilians”.

There was resistance from OECD members to Brazil’s entry, which was partially overcome with the January decision to formally begin accession talks with the Bolsonaro government.

The biggest objections were raised by France on account of the Brazilian government’s environmental policy.

According to interlocutors, what truly unlocked the invitation was an understanding reached between the United States and European OECD partners.

Americans and Europeans disagreed about the pace of expansion of the organization. While Washington advocated that there be only one accession process at a time, European countries wanted the entry of a Latin American country to be accompanied by the analysis of a European candidacy.

The Americans changed their position and agreed that the expansion of the organization should take place at a faster pace.