Brazil on way to seek zero-deforestation by 2028: Vice President Hamilton Mourao

Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao said that the government will shorten the amount of time needed to entirely eradicate illegal deforestation by two to three years.

According to Mourao, the Brazilian delegation will set a goal of zero illegal logging by 2027 or 2028 in the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, in Glasgow-- a year earlier than President Jair Bolsonaro's 2030 goal declared at the White House-led climate meeting in April.

"A more ambitious target in terms of decreasing illegal deforestation in a shorter period would, in my opinion, be really appreciated by the international community", Mourao stated in a video call.

"It would also demonstrate the government's commitment to work in order to prevent climate change from causing harm to life on Earth," he added.

The 2030 target was already a gesture to US President Joe Biden, who had criticised Brazil's environmental record during his campaign last year. Bolsonaro campaigned in 2018 pledging to release the Amazon's massive resources while downplaying indigenous people's rights by preserving vast swaths of the land untouched. His approach is often credited with inciting illicit logging and wildcat mining, which accelerated deforestation and sparked international outrage.

As Bolsonaro strives to restore Brazil's shredded environmental image abroad and portray responsible stewardship, his opponents have argued that his move is deceptive and that recent statistics showing reduced deforestation does not necessarily represent a trend.

The Brazilian space agency's satellites have detected lesser deforestation signals in the Amazon for recent months than in the same months in 2020. However, the number of alarms in September was essentially steady year over year, and preliminary data for October indicate that it will greatly outstrip the destruction of the same month last year.

How is Brazil working on achieving its goal?

Earlier this month, Mourao said that 3,000 soldiers will be deployed for three months to the Amazon rainforest to combat deforestation and man-made fires.

On Monday, Mourao told foreign media that the administration continues to believe that the Amazon should be developed, but in a way that is consistent with sustainability and climate change mitigation, and in observance of Brazilian law.

When asked about the continuing disagreement over the double-counting of carbon credits, Mourao first stated that the government is against it, which would be a significant shift in the country's position. Nations meeting in Glasgow will discuss the possibility of tightening loopholes that allow for double-counting; this would require nations like Brazil to choose whether to credit emissions reductions toward their own goals or the sale of reductions to another country's ambitions.

"Double counting, I'm quite sure we're not on the same page there," Mourao said, adding, "Under any circumstance, we do not endorse that."

When asked if the government was modifying its position, he claimed he wasn't aware of the delegation's negotiating approach.

“It is not my responsibility to figure out all the details of that strategy. You know, it's a negotiation, and it's being done with that 'push and pull," Mourao said, adding that he expects to strike an agreement that benefits both parties.

Experts have accused Brazil of revising its emissions goals last year in order to release more greenhouse gas into the environment, despite the fact that most other countries have increased their goals.

"Brazil has offered a substantially worse proposition," said Niklas Hoehne of the Berlin-based New Climate Institute. The government has suggested a 43% reduction in emissions by 2030 compared to a 25-year-ago level, but last year it dramatically boosted its baseline estimate, making the objective more achievable.

(Image: AP)