When considering major issues such as global climate and environment, we find it very important to establish solid facts regarding Brazil’s track record and strong sustainable development credentials.
Firstly, 60% of Brazilian vegetation is primeval; it is now as it has been since time immemorial, and as it was in the time of the European settlers. These well-established figures are acknowledged by the World Bank, OECD and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
Brazil also has some of the strictest environmental laws in the world, which allows for the protection of the Amazon and the other diverse biomes of our country. For this reason, Brazilian farmers can never touch 20% of their own lands, or even up to 80% in forested areas.
As a result, farmers have been incentivized to invest in cutting-edge technology, research and other means of combining the powerful production needed to feed more than 1 billion people with sustainable practices. This legislation has been praised worldwide, including by the OECD
Our country is an environmental superpower in terms of preservation and working towards conservation. Brazil also aims for lawfulness and transparency in agribusiness - which mixes outstanding productivity rates with a small footprint, occupying less than 30% of our territory.
When it comes to clean energy, Brazil outranks every other major economy, having the cleanest renewable energy matrix of the G20. These unique and remarkable figures have been checked by OECD, Enerdata, UNEP-WCMC, JRC, FAO GAUL and VLIZ.
Brazil has effectively reduced its emissions, paving the way to have 84% of its electricity grid come from renewable energy sources such as biomass, wind, solar and hydroelectric power; and it will keep working towards meeting the goals for the climate agenda.
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, and the sixth most populous, yet our nation accounts for less than 1% of historic CO2 global emissions and for less than 3% of yearly CO2 global emissions. You can verify this data in Our World in Data and Climate Watch Data.
‘Per capita’ CO2 emissions since 1800:
Brazil’s commitment to sustainable development also involves an Urban Environmental Agenda. The government of Brazil is putting a lot of hard work into promoting greener cities and bringing clean water and air to millions of Brazilians living in highly populated urban centers.
Today, almost 35 million Brazilians have no clean water supply, and almost half of the population has no wastewater collection. A new regulatory framework for basic sanitation has been introduced to tackle these ongoing crises.
At COP 26 last year, Brazil delivered a decisive message when announcing her new climate goals:
- Carbon neutrality by 2050
- 50% GHG reduction by 2030
- End illegal deforestation by 2028
- Reforesting 44.46 million acres of vegetation by 2030
Brazil plans to eliminate deforestation by 2028. 16 mil. hectares of the Amazon were reforested, with a target of 12 mil. hectares by 2030. The Terraclass project that measures rainforest health through satellite shows 163k kilometers in recovery, an area equivalent to Tunisia.
It's important to respectfully point out that the common claim that the Amazon rainforest is the lungs of our planet is quite wrong: accounting for nearly half of global biogeochemical carbon absorption, the oceans, not forests, constitute the world's largest carbon sink.
It is also worth pointing out that the Brazilian Amazon is larger than Western Europe and is home to more than 30 million people who need and aspire to better lives, more dignified jobs, and have the right to seek development and progress just like any of us.
Therefore, our commitment to the preservation of the Amazon, for the benefit of Brazil and the world, is inseparable from the care for these people and needs to include a plan to foster a strong green economy able to generate better opportunities for everyone living in that area.
Gérson, Tostão, Rivellino, Jairzinho... And Pelé! Widely regarded as the greatest national football team of all time, the Brazilian golden team, led by coach Zagallo went in search of the third world championship in 1970, in Mexico - first World Cup ever broadcast on tv in color.
In the first three matches valid for the first phase of the World Cup, Brazil beat Czechoslovakia 4-1 in the opening game, England 1-0, and Romania 3-2. A famous moment in the match against the Czechs was when Pelé almost scored a goal from midfield.
Brazil beat Peru in the quarterfinals 4-2, with goals by Tostão (2), Rivellino and Jairzinho; and defeated Uruguay 3-1, goals by Clodoaldo, Jairzinho, and Rivellino. Pelé immortalized another move in which he tricked the goalkeeper with a body dribble but missed the shot on goal.
Brazil, Indonesia and Congo, countries with the world’s largest tropical forests, have - after a decade of negotiations - formed an alliance to cooperate on bioeconomy and the sustainable management, conservation and restoration of tropical forests and critical ecosystems.
The three countries reaffirmed their sovereignty and that they will follow their own climate commitments according to each country's Nationally Determined Contributions, and that they will work for a fair carbon ecosystem while taking into account their environmental commitments.
The alliance will work on the negotiation of a new sustainable funding mechanism under the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity Framework to generate new predictable, adequate and easily accessible multilateral funding resources to support developing countries.
1. Brazil is an environmental superpower, and that's a fact. You are invited to check reliable sourced information on Brazil’s track record and strong sustainable development credentials, presented to the world at COP 27.
2. Firstly, 60% of Brazilian vegetation is primeval; it is now as it has been since time immemorial, and as it was in the time of the European settlers. These well-established figures are acknowledged by the World Bank, OECD and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
3. Brazil also has some of the strictest environmental laws in the world, which allow for the protection of the Amazon and the other diverse biomes of our country. For this reason, Brazilian farmers can never touch 20% of their own lands, or even up to 80% in forested areas.
Extreme poverty in Brazil fell to its lowest level since 1980, according to the World Bank. Brazil was also the country that most reduced poverty in all of Latin America.
In 2019, 11.37 million people - 5.4% of the population - were below the poverty line. In 2020, the number was of 4.14 million individuals, 1.9% of the total. A sum of 7.23 million Brazilians now live in ameliorated conditions.
The Emergency Aid Program (Auxílio Emergencial) was the largest income transfer program in the history of Brazil. Created during the covid-19 pandemic, it benefited 68 million people.
After 200 years of Independence, Brazil became a scientific superpower responsible for 51.08% of scientific production in Latin America (SJR SCImago Journal & Country Rank) and a reference in several areas of knowledge, such as agriculture and tropical medicine.
A measure of our innovation is the number of patents granted, which jumped from 3,623 in 2010 to 21,298 in 2020 (INPI). We also increased the amount of scientific articles published by SCOPUS from 48.5k in 2010 to 89.2k in 2020.
In health sciences the Brazilian government - through the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation - built the largest vaccine factory in Latin America, supplying domestic and international demand.
In 1972, Brazil celebrated the 150th anniversary of its Independence. For this grand occasion, the remains of Dom Pedro I - Emperor of Brazil and proclaimer of independence - were sent to rest here in our country by Portugal, as a mark of friendship between the two nations.
The remains arrived in Rio de Janeiro on April 21 following a pilgrimage across the country, until being deposited in São Paulo the week of September 7, after a multi-day hymnal ceremony, culminating in an unforgettable parade of 18,000 soldiers on Avenida Paulista.
On its journey, the casket passed through the city of Pindamonhagaba, in São Paulo, at the church of St. José, where 16 of the 36 members of the royal Guard of Honor were buried. Ten of them, including the commander, were at the Prince's side in the act of Independence.