Dilma and Minc announce that Brazil can donate US$ 5 billion to poor countries

17/12/2009 - The Brazilian chief minister, Dilma Rousseff, and the minister of the Environment, Carlos Minc, said yesterday (December 16), at a press conference in Copenhagen (Denmark), that Brazil may donate to the poorest countries, in ten years, the equivalent of about US$ 5 billion, for actions of adaptation to the effects of climate change, besides free technical support for projects such as ethanol production and forest monitoring by satellite from the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe).

When speaking to journalists in a room at the Hotel D'Angleterre, in central Copenhagen, after a meeting with President Lula, the two ministers criticized the proposal of rich countries that has been discussed informally at COP-15, in that the biggest part (57%) of the resources for adaptation to climate change should originate from the market, with only 25% from the public sector of the richest nations and the rest (18%) from other sources, such as donations.

To Dilma and Minc, it doesn't make sense to let to the market, which is always seeking for a better return of its loans, the aid to poor countries. "It will not interest the market", said Dilma. In the case of Brazil, the help to the poorest countries in Latin America and in Africa will be by loans at very low rates and free technical support.

The two ministers said that the Brazilian's government position, which is being negotiated at COP-15, is that the resources for adaptation actions, originated from a Global Environmental Fund, must be used exclusively for the poor countries. The emerging ones, with stronger economies (such as Brazil), should receive funding for projects to mitigate their emissions of greenhouse gases.

In the case of the poorest countries, Brazil will invest 20% of the resources from the Amazon Fund in Latin American nations that have areas of the rainforest in their territory. And the Inpe will monitor, by satellite, the deforestation in the Amazon and also in the African Savanna. Minc stressed that this monitoring is essential for these countries to apply for funding by REDD.

To achieve its goals of reducing emissions of CO2 by 2020 in between 36.1% and 39%, Dilma said that Brazil will need about US$ 166 billion, but not everything can be provided by the government's budget. The country therefore has to raise external funding for several mitigation projects which aim to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.

According to Dilma, this value is an "indicative" of the country's needs. From a total amount of US$ 166 billion, about US$ 110 billion to US$ 111 billion would be earmarked for mitigation actions in the energy sector; US$ 32 billion for agriculture; and US$ 21 billion for actions to combat deforestation in the Amazon. The need for resources for actions to combat deforestation in the Cerrado has not yet been quantified.

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