Xi Jinping and Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva must discuss China’s role in protecting Brazilian Amazon
- Brazil’s new president must make good on his pledges to protect the Amazon from deforestation by securing China’s support
- As a major importer of Brazilian beef and soybeans, China has huge influence over agricultural activity in the Amazon
The main cause, accounting for almost half of the country’s emissions that year, was changes in land use, which includes deforestation.
Research from this year shows that 17 per cent of the Amazon has already been cleared, and of the remaining forest, 38 per cent is degraded. At this scale and pace, the forest may soon be unable to sustain its own water cycles, transforming large parts of the ecosystem into savannah.
However, Lula faces no small task ahead. He must first undo much of the damage inflicted by the previous government, which oversaw a 59.5 per cent increase in Amazon deforestation rates compared to the previous four years. This rise is also linked to a systematic dismantling of Brazil’s institutional and legal frameworks for forest protection.
With such a large stake in the future of the Amazon, there is significant opportunity for China to support Brazil’s efforts to combat deforestation. In particular, there are three areas in which Brazil will urgently need China’s support.
At the end of last year, the United States government issued a request for comments on possible legislation for “limiting or removing specific commodities grown on illegally deforested lands from agricultural supply chains”.
China should also consider requirements that would end the importation of products that contribute to deforestation. In fact, the Chinese Ministry of Environment has already presented a proposal on this. Moving ahead with the proposal would do much to reduce deforestation while sending a powerful message to the world.
In Brazil’s Amazon, China is buyer, trader, lender and builder
We will never end deforestation while financial institutions remain complicit in it. President Xi needs to confront this flow of finance from China-based institutions.
A joint task force chaired by China’s and Brazil’s key ministers should be set up to lead both countries’ climate and biodiversity efforts. The task force would be in charge of coordinating and galvanising different government agencies such as those responsible for trade, agriculture, enforcement and development.
China’s support for Brazil’s efforts to end deforestation will be a critical turning point for the world’s remaining climate-critical forests. Tackling deforestation is a challenge that the two presidents must embrace.
Marcio Astrini is executive secretary of the Brazilian Climate Observatory