With growing deforestation, emissions rise for the 4th year in Brazil

For the fourth year in a row, Brazil has increased its greenhouse gas emissions thanks, in particular, to the significant increase in deforestation in the Amazon — something that has been constant in the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government. The increase in emissions associated with energy and agriculture also weighed on the bill. In relation to 2020, the country had in 2021 an increase of about 12% in greenhouse gases emitted, the third largest growth on record.

The SEEG data (Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimation System of the Climate Observatory) were released this Tuesday (1st).

Greater jumps in emissions had only occurred in 1995 (about 13.5%) and in 2003 (about 20.7%), both years in which Brazil had more than 20,000 km² of deforestation.

Forest clearing in the Amazon is the largest Brazilian source of emissions. According to the new Seeg data, about 49% of national emissions in 2021 were associated with land and forest use change — which can be read as deforestation. In 2020, deforestation represented 46% of emissions.

Seeg points out that deforestation, in the Amazon in particular, threw up 1.1 billion tons of CO_twoand (read CO_two equivalent, that is, a kind of “sum” of all greenhouse gases). If you want to be more specific, 1,188,188,576 tons of CO were emitted_twoand.

Generally speaking, trees are carbon reserves. In this way, when they are cut down, the carbon is released.

In 2021 (actually, from August 2020 to July 2021), according to data from Prodes, an Inpe (National Institute for Space Research) program, more than 13,000 km² of Amazonia were demolished, a 22% jump compared to the previous year. last year.

Seeg data also show increases in gas emissions associated with deforestation in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado.

And there is yet another aggravating factor. Emissions associated with fires — which are man-made in the Amazon — are not accounted for by Brazil in its national greenhouse gas inventory. If they were counted, Seeg calculates, they would represent a considerable 8% increase in emissions.

In all, in 2021, Brazil released 2.4 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere_twoand. In 2020, there were 2,160,065,007 tons.

Agriculture appears as the second largest source of national emissions, representing 25% of greenhouse gases emitted — the equivalent of more than 600 million tons of CO_twoe– and also with growth in relation to the previous year. It was the highest level of emissions in the sector in the historical series, according to Seeg, around 600 million tons of CO_twoand, which may be explained especially by the great increase of the herd in the country.

Greenhouse gases from agriculture are mainly linked to the digestion process of cattle that produces methane, a potent global warming gas.

Then comes the energy area, with 18% of emissions (more than 434 million tons of CO_twoand). Seeg points to a significant rise in emissions from this sector, which would be associated with an economic recovery after the first year of the pandemic — there was also an increase in emissions in the industrial sector — and also with the water crisis that affected hydroelectric power generation. With the drought, it was necessary to activate thermoelectric plants — something that was continued by the government —, which generate more emissions.

An increase in the price of ethanol, due to the drop in the sugarcane harvest, would also have increased the share of other more polluting fuels in transport modes.

And why is all this important?

The most direct answer is the climate crisis. The countries have made efforts and agreements – still insufficient – ​​to try to stop the emission of greenhouse gases and, with that, at least minimize the climatic extremes that are already occurring.

Brazil has an international commitment from the Paris Agreement to reduce its emissions and, by 2050, to be carbon neutral (that is, in general, to have emissions and carbon sequestration at parity).

For 2030, the country has to cut emissions by 50% compared to 2005, a commitment that was recently made by the Jair Bolsonaro government (PL) — before, at the signing of the Paris Agreement, the cut agreed was 43%. It sounds like a high cutoff and an increase in ambition, but it’s actually a “climate ride”. The government updated and increased the comparison base data (the year 2005).

In this way, even with the small percentage increase in the cut, Brazil would arrive in 2030 emitting more than it had committed to in the signing of the Paris Agreement. Bolsonaro’s new Brazilian climate target, which regresses from the previous commitment, was pointed out by a recent report by UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) that analyzes international emission reduction targets.

In addition to Brazil, Mexico also presented an updated target that results in an increase in emissions in relation to the initial proposal to reduce greenhouse gases.