“For Brazil there is no choice of not having a regulated carbon market.” The statement by Marcelo Ramos (PL-AM), Vice President of the Chamber of Deputies, set the tone for the Debriefing COP26, an online event held by the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) to assess the progress made during COP26 and the performance of the private sector.

The event also counted with the presence of the president of CEBDS, Marina Grossi; the Head of Global Sustainability at Natura, Denise Hills; Ana Toni, director of the Instituto Clima e Sociedade (ICS); Liège Correia, Director of Sustainability at JBS and the Technical Manager for Climate and Finance at CEBDS, Natália Renteria. According to Marina Grossi, this is the time to “set down, analyze and internalize what happened, because Glasgow starts from now on”.

Bet on the green economy

For Marcelo Ramos, most economic agents in Brazil are engaged with the agenda and also understand the importance of the carbon market. “A country with 15 million unemployed and 20 million hungry citizens cannot give up a green economy”, justified the member of the Board of Directors of the Chamber of Deputies. According to him, the net gain potential for Brazil is up to US$ 70 billion in carbon credits.

“We saw that the heavy weight of the Brazilian GDP is in this fight and understands the opportunity of the climate”, confirmed the president of CEBDS, Marina Grossi, highlighting the coalitions organized by the private sector, such as the “Empresários pelo Clima” initiative, whose Council of Leaders studies the socioeconomic opportunities for Brazil within the climate issue.

In this perspective, CEBDS lined up an alliance with 14 entities and obtained the support of 119 CEOs. “We made a series of moves in this direction and we still managed to influence the government to reduce its horizon of climate neutrality by 10 years, from 2060 to 2050”, Grossi recalled. According to her, Brazil cannot issue any carbon credit. “We have to bring together added value from biodiversity and social issues as well,” she said.

In the assessment of the Head of Global Sustainability at Natura, Denise Hills, with this model, carbon credits would have a high price for a high demand, injecting more resources into the country and allowing the development of the bioeconomy. “These credits have to pay for other environmental services. Only in this way will it be possible to combine nature-based solutions with innovation processes”, she stated.

The Natura representative also explained that bringing the issue of biodiversity to the debate placed the issue on the climate crisis on another level. “The Forest Agreement and its commitment to reducing illegal deforestation underscored the importance of keeping tropical forests standing, both to capture greenhouse gases and to preserve biodiversity,” she said. Denise Hills also argued that the restoration and regeneration of degraded areas – as long as exotic or invasive species are not introduced – is an excellent business opportunity.

Another advance mentioned, this time by Liège Correia, JBS’ Sustainability Director, was the agreement to reduce methane gas emissions. “Brazil has committed to a reduction of around 30%, which for us (who have one of the largest bovine herds on the planet) is a goal that we have embraced for some time and we are happy with the proportion the topic has taken”, declared the executive. Brazil is the fifth largest emitter of methane in the world.

Finally, Ana Toni, director of the Instituto Clima e Sociedade (ICS), highlighted the importance of civil society in all the measures that may be adopted. “We saw massive participation from society in the form of protests. This discussion and its respective results will only bring benefits if we forge alliances between the business sector, science and civil society”, she concluded.