Brazil’s Climate Change position for the Kyoto 2 Conference in Copenhagen has been one that has consistently supported the idea of common but differentiated responsibilities. This places the burden largely on developed countries to reduce their emission levels, because their historical emissions are much larger than those of developing countries. Brazil has consistently been opposed to supporting Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) mechanisms as a way for developed countries to buy carbon emission allowances in exchange for protecting forests in developing nations. The position of the country was outlined in the article Brazil opposes forest Carbon trading. The protection of the forests by other countries could limit Brazil’s ability to industrialize and use forest resources to improve economic growth and GDP. This has the potential for Brazil to lose its soverienty over its land to binding international agreements of conservation and deforestation avoidance.
In the last few months, the current administration may have flip flopped its policy position as is outlined in the Brazil speeds up its Copenhagen homework article. Politically the support by Brazil for the REDD program may be a critical endorsement to help make the program more potential impact and awareness. This is because Brazil contains huge swathes of forests that could be potentially protected by other countries for carbon credits. However, it is difficult to tell whether Brazil’s support may be too limited to effectively prevent unsustainable deforestation and degradation practices in the Amazon. Brazil’s plan may be unsustainable and promote unsustainable practices as is described in Brazil’s National Plan on Climate Change on the Amazon Fund.
Tags: Carbon Sequestration, climate change, COP15 Resources, LULUCF, Philip Rothrock, REDD
