Brazil will target energy and transportation emissions as part of its nationally determined contribution (NDC) it outlined ahead of schedule, as the country prepares to host the Cop 30 conference in Belem, Para state next year.
The government's goal with the new NDC is to "lead by example" by committing to the more aggressive emissions-reduction targets.
The new NDC, which was released ahead of the UN Cop 29 climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, aims to go beyond deforestation — which causes roughly half of the country's emissions — to include other sectors of the economy, including industry, transport, energy and agriculture.
Under the new proposal, Brazil will aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 59-67pc from 2005 levels by 2035, equivalent to emissions levels of 850mn-1.05bn metric tons of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e). The government promised to finalize the targets for each sector of the economy during the first half of next year.
On the energy and transport fronts, Brazil is seeking to further expand the use of renewables, which currently stand at 89pc of electricity and 49pc of total energy consumption. To reduce emissions from this sector, the government plans to gradually reduce the use of fossil fuels and to replace them with electric motors and biofuels.
Additionally, the government cited policies that have been approved this year, including the low-carbon hydrogen law and the fuels of the future law, which will reduce emissions from the industrial and transport sectors. The government also underscored the expanded use of advanced biofuels and the production of conventional biofuels in conjunction with carbon capture to reduce energy emissions.
The plan singled out the waste-management sector for its potential to contribute to methane emissions reductions while generating renewable energy from CH4 capture. It cited the expansion of biomethane use, to reduce the use of LPG and natural gas in cooking.
For the agriculture sector, the government is targeting large-scale conversion of degraded pastures into crop land, as well as the expanded use of new farming techniques, such as crop-livestock and crop-livestock-forest integration.
Additionally, the government promised to expand its efforts to combat deforestation beyond the Amazon basin into new biomes, including the Atlantic rainforest, Pantanal, pampa and cerrado tropical savanna biomes. The government has also launched a plan to reforest roughly 12mn hectares of forests by 2030, which would contribute to the country's net GHG removals.
Some Brazilian NGOs commended the government for issuing the new NDC ahead of schedule, and for citing concrete measures that will be adopted to reduce GHG emissions. But they warned that the new NDC is not in line with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
Climate NGO Greenpeace classified the new target as "unambitious" and "clearly insufficient," while Brazilian climate think tank Observatorio do Clima criticized the government's failure to increase its targets for 2030.
Observatorio do Clima, along with roughly 100 other NGOs, issued a report earlier this year calling on Brazil to adopt a much more aggressive target to slash CO2 emissions by 92pc from 2005 levels by 2035, equivalent to 200mn tCO2e/y.
While the NDC did cite policies aimed at reducing dependence on fossil fuels, Observatorio do Clima criticized the government's failure to announce a plan to end the expansion of fossil-fuel use. This sentiment was echoed by Oil Change International, which said that Brazil's goal of being on the "forefront of the global energy transition" is incompatible with its plans to increase oil production over the next decade. Observatorio do Clima also criticized the lack of clarity regarding its plans to double renewable energy capacity and triple energy efficiency. It also questioned the government's deforestation goals, arguing that all deforestation, not just illegal deforestation, needed to be eliminated.
