Brazil may no longer be the villain of climate change, says environmentalist

On the second day of COP26, Brazil signed a global commitment to reduce methane gas emissions by 30% by 2030. For environmentalist Fábio Feldmann, the country’s adhesion demonstrates a change in posture compared to recent years

“There was a change in Brazil’s position for obvious reasons: the country was isolated at the COP and in the climate discussion, which was made clear at the G20 meeting. And two facts indicate change: change in the commitment signed in Paris and adherence to the plan to combat methane and in the defense of forests,” he said in an interview to CNN.

“In recent years, the Brazilian position has been embarrassing abroad. Brazil should not be a protagonist again, but it may stop being the great villain of the COP and climate change”, he added.

For the environmentalist, fighting gas emissions is a major challenge in the country. “It is more difficult due to the main source of gas in the country: agriculture and cattle raising. With the large bovine herd, it gets more complicated”, he declared.

Despite recent advances, Feldmann assesses that the Brazilian commitment against illegal deforestation still indicates a lack of commitment.

“The government recognizes the illegality, and yet says that it will only be able to fight it until 2030. The only beneficiaries of this practice are the grileiros, the country does not gain anything”, said the environmentalist.

Finally, he reinforced the importance of the COP to combat global climate change. “Political leaders are aware of the urgency to act and this is the great challenge. If action is not taken immediately, the possibility of reversing the rise in temperature becomes impossible from a practical and scientific point of view”.

(Posted by Henrique Andrade)