Here’s Our Plan to Save the Amazon, Says Brazil

The Brazilian government has unveiled its four-year plan to end illegal deforestation in the Amazon by 2030, with the ambition to also achieve net zero deforestation and re-adjust the country’s commitments to cut its carbon emissions.

“Brazil will once again become a global reference in sustainability, tackling climate change, and achieving targets for carbon emission reduction and zero deforestation,” states Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

The latest imposed measures are part of the fifth phase of the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon, a large initiative created 20 years ago responsible for curbing deforestation by 83% between 2004 and 2012. The action plan’s goals are to stimulate the so-called bio-economy, establish measures to increase monitoring and law enforcement, pledge to create new conservation units, integrate data and systems for remote monitoring and accountability, and align infrastructure projects with deforestation reduction goals and rural credit policies tied to achieving zero deforestation. To reach net zero deforestation, Brazil’s authorities intend to restore native vegetation stocks as compensation for legal vegetation removal. Also, they will readjust Brazil’s international commitments to cut emissions by bringing them back to what was promised in 2015, reducing carbon emissions by 37% by 2025 and by 43% by 2030.