Nov 12, 2009
Brazil Proposes To Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions By 40% By The Year 2020
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The Environmental Minister of Brazil, Carlos Minc, recently announced that Brazil would propose a reduction of 40% in its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 at the United Nations environmental meeting in Copenhagen next month. The Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Agriculture, Reinhold Stephans, have worked together closely to develop this goal of 40% reduction in greenhouse gases. They anticipate that 20% of the reduction will come from reduced deforestation in the Amazon Region, 20% will come from reduced land clearing in the cerrado region of central Brazil, and the remaining reductions will come from reforestation, improved agricultural practices, energy efficiency, and increased use of biofuels.
A significant percent of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions are the result of land clearing operations in the Amazon Region as well as in the cerrado regions of central Brazil. To address these concerns, the Environment Minister announced stepped up efforts to reduce deforestation in the Amazon Region. According to the minister, the amount of deforestation in 2009 was the lowest in 21 years and he vowed further reductions in the years ahead.
The agricultural sector is set to play a key role as well in reducing the amount of land being cleared. In an effort to increase crop production, many farmers in central Brazil cleared land that was supposed to have been kept in its natural state. The government is now formulating plans to force those farmers to return those illegally cleared areas to either its natural vegetation or to have them reforested. This has been a very contentious issue in Brazil because the farmers say that they received permission from state authorities to clear the land, but now the federal government contends that those permits to clear the land were not issued properly.
Other ways that agriculture can cut their greenhouse gas emission include a greater use of no-till planting, using degraded pastures to increase row crop production instead of clearing new land, and increased use of biofuels to replace fossil fuels. Brazilian farmers already employ no-till planting for a majority of their row crops and the Agricultural Minister wants it used in all phases of agriculture. For several years, the federal government has been promoting the use of degraded pastureland to increase row crop production instead of clearing new land. Brazil has million of hectares of these degraded pastures that were deforested decades or even generations ago. Scientists at Embrapa have already developed long-term rotations suited for the use of these lands. Of course, the use of more biofuels has long been a goal of Brazilian farmers. Brazilian agriculture has been very successful in increasing the production of alcohol and biodiesel and will continue to do so in future years.
The minister feels that the agricultural sector could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 150 million tons with ten years, which is about 10% of Brazil carbon dioxide emissions.