The National Climate Change Fund is Sanctioned by President Lula

11/12/2009 - Secretariat for Social Communication of the Presidency of Brazil - This week, the Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sanctioned the creation of the National Climate Change Fund, which will use resources from oil activity profits to finance mitigation and adaptation projects in the country.

The Fund has an estimated budget that ranges from US$ 450 to US$ 570 million per year, deriving from 10% of oil profits. It is important to note that donations will also be accepted from national and international institutions, whether public or private, among other possibilities foreseen by the law.

The resources will be used in researches and actions for mitigation and adaptation to climate change. "Such funds will help vulnerable regions to climate change, such as the Northeast, which will suffer from water shortage and may lose one third of its economy up to the end of the century, not to mention coastal regions that could suffer from flooding", explained the Minister for the Environment, Carlos Minc.

The approval of the Fund demonstrates a strong commitment from Brazil to the reduction of greenhouse gases and the negotiation of an ambitious agreement at the Climate Conference (COP-15) in Copenhagen. "Such actions can only reinforce the Brazilian position as a role model and consolidate the power of Brazil in demanding from rich countries far more than what they are willing to do", stressed the Minister.

The resources could be applied in different activities, such as support to sustainable production chains; scientific researches on the analysis of impacts and vulnerabilities; projects of carbon emissions reduction from deforestation and forest degradation; development and diffusion of technologies for the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions; and the construction of public policies to solve problems related to GHG emissions and mitigation of their effects.

The Fund also includes activities directed to the payment for environmental services to communities and individuals who carry out activities that contribute to verifiable carbon storage, associated to other environmental services.

The Fund will be coordinated by the Ministry of the Environment and managed by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). The estimate is that a commission will be created in the beginning of 2010 to evaluate which projects will be favored by the Fund. The resources of the Fund, that can finance initiatives throughout the whole country, could reach up to US$ 5 billion across the next decade.

Do Ministério do Meio Ambiente