“In my opinion, there is no chance for Brazil to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, both in terms of reducing illegal deforestation and reforesting 12 million hectares of forest,” says Paulo Artaxo, a well-known scientist and climatologist at the Brazilian University of Sao Paulo. Gustavo Baptista, a geographer and professor of satellite images at the University of Brasilia, warns that the country will reach a record rate of deforestation in 2019. He is another skeptic about the country`s potential to achieve its goals of the Paris Agreement: “We have people who are responsible for the environmental agenda and who deny anthropogenic interference. It is simply irresponsible. Indeed, even before he took office, Bolsonaro announced his intention to withdraw Brazil`s offer to host COP25 at the end of this year, the largest UN climate meeting since Paris. A meeting between brazil`s current Foreign Minister Ernesto Araéjo on 13 September and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was of particular concern to environmentalists. At the meeting, the Governments of Bolsonaro and Trump pledged to promote the sustainable development of the private sector in the Amazon and pledged to create a $100 million biodiversity conservation fund. Although no details have been proposed on an agreement, conservationists expressed concern about the use of the term “development” in the context of the world`s largest rainforest. Today, the body is in discussion and no longer leads the government on Progress in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. And although Brazil`s Environment Minister Ricardo Salles said the country is working “very well” in its efforts to comply with the agreement, the data is kept secret and Santos is skeptical: “I would like to know what the basis of this argument is. From where I can see, we will not be able to achieve the goals. At the same time, Brazilian cities, states and non-state actors are setting CO2 emission reduction targets that include clean growth, and civil society is committed to increasing transparency, participation and ambition in national climate policies. Violation of the land rights of indigenous peoples and communities also undermines climate progress.
As WRI`s “Climate Benefits, Tenure Costs: The Economic Case for Securing Indigenous Land Rights in the Amazon” explains in detail, land lands can generate environmental, social and economic benefits while limiting climate change.