The president of the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), Marina Grossi, said this Thursday (21) that the partnership between the business sector and the government is essential for Brazil to advance in the COP26 negotiations. Marina Grossi was one of the speakers at the meeting “COP26 on the agenda: what is news”, held by Suzano for journalists.

According to the president of CEBDS, public sector is mobilizing together with the private sector in order to seek convergence on the themes of the climate agenda.

“We are at a very effervescent moment in this debate. I have been following COPs for over 20 years and COP26 will be one of the most important. COP21, in 2015, represented a great victorious change, because it was possible to find a way in which all countries took responsibility. But that account hasn’t closed, and now the press around the world is no longer interested in an intention, but in what is being done.

According to Marina Grossi, plans by countries or companies related to climate change that do not show what will be done in the next two years tends tp be considered green washing. In addition, she noted, the business model must include the imperative of ESG, which involves good environmental, social and governance practices, which were intensified during the pandemic.

Companies for the weather

CEBDS recently launched the Entrepreneurs for the Climate position, which brings together CEOs of companies associated with CEBDS. The initiative involves proposals on various topics related to the climate agenda, such as regulation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, neutrality of emissions, traceability and actions to protect forests. The objective is to stimulate more ambition in Brazil’s climate goals, represented in the Paris Agreement by the Nationally Determined Contribution, known as NDC.

“Brazil has an extremely unique position in this low-carbon economy, so Suzano and other companies have realized this, including in the oil and gas sector. Our energy matrix is ​​much cleaner with our industries. We are cleaner than others, which puts us at an advantage in this race”, said Marina Grossi.

On the other hand, noted the president of CEBDS, Brazil suffers from illegal deforestation, which hinders the negotiations to be held at COP26.

“The government needs to be a partner in issues such as public lands without destination and necessary actions of command and control,” she said. “Deforestation represents 48% of our emissions and 99% of this is illegal. It’s the big noise that tarnishes our reputation abroad.”

Illegal deforestation in the Amazon

Last year, CEOs of companies associated with CEBDS and various organizations released the Communication of the Brazilian Companies, aimed at the public sector, in which they expressed concern about the international perception of Brazil in relation to the Amazon.

According to the president of CEBDS, the regulated market has to be done with the collaboration of the government. In this sense, the organization proposed a replacement for project 528/21, which is currently in the Chamber of Deputies and deals with the creation of the Brazilian Market for Emission Reduction (MBRE).

The CEBDS initiative aimed to include in the text a transition from the voluntary to the compulsory market. “This market needs to be gradual, in a way that respects the competitiveness of Brazilian industries,” she noted.

The president of CEBDS included the Brazilian Communication of the Brazilian Companies as one of the main recent initiatives in relation to climate change, which also include the positioning of Brazilian banks. “In this new development model, we see the issue of climate justice emerging. The “S” of the ESG is the most difficult to measure. Climate justice is the highlight at COP26”.