At a seminar held by Estadão on Thursday (3), the president of the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) advocates that the country adopt a green economic recovery, with social inclusion and respect for the environment
Rio de Janeiro, September 3, 2020 – Brazil cannot tolerate illegal deforestation in the Amazon and needs to change course now, setting goals and implementing an action plan to achieve them. At the same time, the country must seek economic recovery on other bases, with social inclusion and respect for the environment, investing in a circular and low-carbon economy model. In short, these were the two points highlighted by the president of the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS), Marina Grossi, on the issue of transforming Brazil from an international villain to a sustainable powerhouse, in a panel at the Green Recovery Seminar, held this Thursday (3) by the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo.
“Brazil is an environmental powerhouse, with a position that no other country has, and it needs to take advantage of this. However, to assume global prominence, Brazil does not need to talk or do marketing. We have a huge elephant in the room. We cannot be tolerant of illegality. Those who promote illegal deforestation in the Amazon have a CNPJ and can be monitored,” said the president of CEBDS.
In his speech, the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Federal Deputy Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), blamed the dismantling of environmental oversight agencies – promoted during Jair Bolsonaro’s government – for the country’s negative image in the foreign market. “Brazil had been building an image in line with its concern for environmental preservation. This is not a criticism, it is an observation. Bolsonaro won the election with a different narrative. And, throughout 2019, the Ministry of the Environment has been disorganizing or dismantling everything that had been built since the 1990s. This has had a major impact on our image in the world and, more than that, it has impacted investment decisions,” said the Speaker of the Chamber.
According to him, the role of the Chamber is to broaden the debate and work together with other actors in society to approve projects on the implementation of a carbon market in Brazil or greater punishment for those who practice illegal deforestation. “There are two anchors that are essential for Brazil to regain its ability to attract investment, to return to growth and development: fiscal and environmental,” said Maia.
According to him, the reality of adjustments to current environmental policy is a pressing concern for the federal government. “The pressure society is putting on for more transparency and action has been very important. This is a priority agenda for all of Brazilian society,” the deputy noted.
Scientist and senior researcher at the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of São Paulo, Carlos Nobre, pointed to the protection of all tropical forests on the planet as an essential strategy to prevent new epidemiological outbreaks on a global scale, such as Covid-19.
At the national level, Nobre highlighted the main challenge of changing the current Brazilian agribusiness model, which, according to him, does not practice 21st century agriculture: peri-urban, technological and verticalized. “There are some great examples of companies that practice this agricultural model, in which it is possible to increase productivity without expanding the agricultural area, but there is no scale. Brazil needs to wake up to this, otherwise it will fall behind,” warned the scientist.
Furthermore, he highlighted the economic potential of Brazilian biodiversity. “We have barely exploited our biodiversity economically, whether in the Amazon, the Cerrado, the Atlantic Forest or the Caatinga. Today, we use almost nothing in the Brazilian economic system, less than 0.3% of the GDP. Embrapa spends no more than 3% of its budget on developing this new bioeconomy,” said Nobre, citing as an example the
açaí production chain in the Amazon, which represents more than 1 billion dollars per year for the region's economy. “More than timber,” compared the scientist.
ABOUT CEBDS
The Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) is a non-profit civil association that promotes sustainable development through partnerships with governments and civil society, in addition to disseminating the most current concepts and practices on the subject. Founded in 1997, it brings together around 60 of the largest business groups in the country, responsible for more than 1 million direct jobs. In Brazil, it represents the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) network, which has almost 60 national and regional councils in 36 countries and 22 industrial sectors, in addition to 200 business groups operating on all continents. More information: https://cebds.org/
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Eduardo Nunes
