Brazilian Policy on Climate Change

Brazil is convinced that the international regime embodied by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol is the most appropriate legal instrument for directing - in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities - global efforts towards the reversal of global warming through a reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases. Brazil ratified the Kyoto Protocol in August 2002.

2 - Scientific studies carried out by the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) prove that industrialized countries bear most of the responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions. Developing countries, meanwhile, are the most vulnerable to the adverse effects of global warming, namely rising sea-levels, changing rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts - all of which have a negative impact on agricultural production and the conservation of ecosystems (especially in the tropics), and also exacerbate the spread of diseases.

3 - Brazil plays a prominent role in the discussions on climate change. Brazil took the initiative of introducing the idea of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which was incorporated in the Kyoto Protocol. As a developing country, and according to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, Brazil is not required to take specific action to meet the targets established by the Kyoto Protocol.

4 - In the Kyoto Protocol negotiations in 1997, Brazil proposed that differentiated targets for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions should be established, corresponding to each individual country’s historical contribution to the increase in global temperatures. In studies concerning the methodological and scientific aspects of the “Brazilian Proposal”, Brazilian scientists have been co-operating closely with their British counterparts – especially those at the Hadley Center (UK Meteorological Office), who have been working with Brazilian institutions in modeling climate change scenarios resulting from possible temperature rises caused by greenhouse gas emissions. Dr David Warrilaw from the UK government’s Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has been working with Dr José Miguez from the Brazilian Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr Thelma Krug from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and Dr Gylvan Meira Filho from the University of São Paulo (USP).

5 - Four technical meetings have already been held in order to analyze scientific aspects of the Brazilian Proposal, the most recent having taken place in Berlin in May this year. Brazil is grateful for the support it has received from the United Kingdom in organizing these meetings. There have been regular consultations between Brazil and the United Kingdom in the form of parallel meetings between their respective delegations during the Conferences of the State Parties to the Convention on Climate Change. Brazil is keen to further its co-operation with the United Kingdom in the field of climate change.

6 - Bearing in mind that the burning of fossil fuels is the principal cause of the anthropic emission of greenhouse gases, the development of renewable energy sources is a fundamental part of the efforts towards the mitigation of global warming. In response to a suggestion of the United Kingdom, in August 2003, in Campos do Jordão (state of São Paulo), the Environment Secretariat of the State of São Paulo organized a Latin American and Caribbean meeting of the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), a British initiative launched during the 2002 Johannesburg Summit.

7 - The Inter-ministerial Commission on Climate Change (CIMGC), composed of nine ministries and headed by the Ministry of Science and Technology, was established in 1999 for the purpose of coordinating governmental discussions on the theme. Though CIMGC deliberates on government policies, it welcomes the involvement all stakeholders and representatives of civil society. Indeed, the Brazilian government encourages wide and inclusive debate as a key element for addressing the issue of climate change, and the level of participation of civil society has increased significantly.

May 2004