On 12 September 2016, Brazil became one of the first countries responsible for emissions to ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change.
The 21st Conference of Parties (COP-21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), took place in Paris from 30 November to 11 December 2015 and was signed in New York on 22 April 2016.
A total of 195 countries participated in the COP-21, with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and global warming.
Nowadays, the right to an ecologically balanced environment is a major concern. Over the past 20 years, governments, businesses, and society have widely accepted the importance of sustainable development as a guiding principle.
The main challenges for all the signatory countries are to reduce Greenhouse gas emissions and endeavor to limit the increase in temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Global warming has already risen 3°C above such pre-industrial levels and we are paying the price, suffering from environmental disasters all over the world.
Signatory countries must now prepare and submit their current national climate plans, altering them from Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as part of a global effort against climate change.
Brazil´s government has committed to cutting greenhouse-effect gas emissions by 37% before 2025, with a possible 43% reduction by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.
The advantage of Brazil’s swift ratification of the Paris Agreement is that it can already begin implementing measures to reach its targets.
The Minister for the Environment and Natural Resources, Sarney Filho, ensured the continuity of discussions with the business community to increase investments and participation of the private sector in order to comply with the targets. “The change in the consumption and production pattern will only occur with the support of the business community, and it is within this perspective that the ministry places itself as a partner of the development process. In our view, development and the environment are partners, not antagonists” he said.