Bruna Obadowski, for the NINJA coverage at COP26

As a huge warning for the world, the coordinator of MapBiomas, Tasso Azevedo, was relentless when defending at the 26th UN Conference of Climate Changes (COP26), zero deforestation for Brazil. According to him who took part of the panel “Deforestation in the Amazon region and the Paris goals: what is the size of the hole?” this Tuesday (11/02). Urgently stopping deforestation is the only way of effectively reaching the climate mitigation goals of the Paris Agreement. He alerted that until the end of the Conference, around 500 million trees will be felled in the Amazon region.

He also reminded the position of the Brazilian government, that even amidst the worldwide disbelief, readjusted from 43% to 50% the decrease to be achieved in greenhouse gases emissions until 2030. In December, at the last review of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), Brazil kept is emissions goals of 37% for 2025 and 43% for 2030. At that time, the Climate Action Tracker Consortium decrease the level of the statements from “insufficient” to “very insufficient”.

According to the researcher at professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais, Raoni Rajão, who also took part from the panel on Amazon deforestation, in order to meet the 2030 goals, it will be necessary an effective effort on part of the Brazilian government inclusively in economic terms.

Rajão mentioned in his speech the relationship of public environmental policies with the commitment of the legal landmarks and the control to decrease illegal deforestation and fires. According to him, “we are getting farther away from a strong governance and getting closer to a weak governance that puts at risk the chances of Brazil meeting its environmental goals for 2030”.

Illegal Deforestation

Another point fiercely debated at the panel was illegal deforestation. In a recently published paper by Science magazine and signed by Raoni Rajão, 20% of soybeans exports and at least 17% of beef exports may be associated to illegal deforestation.

Researchers are worried with the fact that many activities are being more and more facilitated by the present government, that is risking the preservation of the Amazon Forest and consequently the efficacy of reaching the goals established by Brazil at the Paris agreement is being weakened. Just to give you an idea, in 2020 around 160 environment laws had been amended, rendering easier deforestation actions.

Also, about deforestation and its relationship to climate, Luciana Gatti, researcher from the National Institute for Space Researches (INPE), that concentrates studies of Carbon Balance in the Amazon, was emphatic in evidencing the preoccupation with the results of her research, already 11 years in course. According to her “the consequence of the economic activities is having a drastic impact in the forest”.

Just to give you an idea, between January and March 2020 INPE has detected 79.6 thousand hectares of deforestation in the Amazon, which corresponds to the area of the city of Goiânia. More than a million trees were felled. During this period this is the highest deforestation rate since 2016, when the present methodology started to be employed.

According to Gatti, this is a catastrophic increase of temperatures in the Amazon, in the forest’s southeast region, the temperature rose 3.1 degrees and rainfall was reduced in 24% during the draught period in the last 40 years. Also, according to her, the areas degraded by deforestation and forest fires in the Amazon region are already compromising the absorption of carbonic gas by the forest. “For the first time we are observing a decrease in the CO2 absorption potential by the Amazon Forest”.

At the end of the panel, the message to the world was: we must preserve the Amazon, for the good of Brazil and the planet, for the forest is much more valuable preserved that deforested, inclusive in economic terms. 

 @MidiaNinja and @CasaNinjaAmazonia carry out a special coverage of COP26. Follow the tag #ninjanacop at the networks!

Translated by Ana Ruth Kleinberger, Catálogo de Tradutores