Brazzil

An interesting article, although it should be noted that Brazil can also be credited as one of the primary authors of the CDM. Brazil first presented the idea of a “Clean Development Fund” which would financially punish industrialized countries for not making their quotas and funneling the cash from those fines to developing countries not bound to any reduction targets – you can see why it was later, through protest, ammended.

Still, fewer know that Brazil is the fourth largest carbon emitter on the planet. That’s correct; the 4rth worst CO2 polluter in the world is not bound in any way shape or form to reduce their emissions given their Annex 2 status.

Brazil’s GH gas emissions whether through the burning of fossil fuels, transport or the methane created by landfill, are modest. Methane may be a more potent GH gas, but in the end the biggest culprit leading to a warmer world is Co2. With 50% of Brazil’s energy demands fulfilled through hydro, how is it that Brazil ranks as the world’s 4th largest carbon polluter?

Simple: 75% of Brazil’s total carbon emissions stem from deforestation.

Brazil could quite successfully and drastically reduce their anthropogenic GH gas emissions if they were to seriously tackle illegal and predatory deforestation in the Amazon as well as throughout the rest of the country.

Also, Kyoto has been seen as a failure by many, not just because bad ole Georgy didn’t ratify, but also because it was non inclusive global treaty (freeing from its binds some of the most up and coming polluter nations). Another more salient reason some place little faith in Kyoto is because the target of 5.2% (which will never be achieved regardless) was believed to be far too low to make any real difference to stave off some of the forecasted problems that the planet will face this century.

Don’t get me wrong. I fully support the Kyoto protocol, it is a step in the right direction, albeit not a very large one, but more to the point it was a global recognition in 1997 that climate change was a threat. Something that even today, people from the Flat Earth Society have a tendency to try and still discredit.

Brazil is already leading the world in biofuel technology (the caveat being that alcool is a short term fix which will be usurped by hydrogen in the next 2 decades); and the majority of Brazil’s energy is already “clean.” Still Brazil can and should invest more in solar and wind (I can think of no other nation in the world better suited for these technologies) but they shouldn’t sit on their hands and wait for hands outs via the CDM.

To really get the ball rolling on reducing Greenhouse gas emissions Brazil has to tackle deforestation in the Amazon – it is just that simple.

Congrats to the author, it’s refreshing to see an article with some substance and discussing an important issue.

Kyoto is also about pollution ! Right ?
Thus why are you complimenting a country that pollute with :
- deforestation sending dioxine by the millions and millions of tons....in the air !
- 46 millions of people without any sanitation.
- only 10 % of citizens trash treated.
- only 10 % of industrial sewage and human waste water treated.
- 200 millions of cows generating each 12 dungs.....PER DAY ! Laugh ! I just remind you that they dont have laws forbiding to keep cows near reservoirs/lagoons/ lakes/ ocean.
- Brazil puts tens of thousands of old cars......in rivers....lakes and the ocean.
- ALL of their rivers are heavily polluted for reasons mentionned earlier.

I am not American, but from a little country in the center of EU ! One of the wealthiest country in the world, one of the liveliest city on this planet, as per Mercer Institute polls and votes.
Ohhhh also just a few days ago my country has been named by the World Economic Forum : the world most efficient/productive country. the USA being nbr 4 and Japan 5 or 6 !

This info just to tell you that we dont really need the Kyoto agreement or whatever.

You see, in fact the Nike logo says it all : JUST DO IT !

And I can tell you that my country is also known for the overall cleanliness. Contrary to Brazil, we clean the streets/roads, parks, cities, etc.
Our industries cannot spill fumes or toxic wastes. If they do......they must pay for the cleaning and also have a huge fine.
Cows are NOT allowed to be near a water source.
We do not burn our forests and we have many.....Yessss !
And over 90 % of sewage, waste water is treated.
Finally we do not have landfills. Trash is collected AND treated : burnt with NO fumes in the air, everything being filtered several times using the latest technology !

Going back to Brazil, I am pretty sure that if you compare based on Dollar output......Brazil pollutes FAR more than the USA.

Just create laws.......AND APPLY THEM.......CONTRARY TO BRAZIL THAT HAS SO MANY LAWS THAT ARE ANYWAY NOT APPLIED !!!

Cheers !

Kyoto is a failure, not because the USA has refused to join it, but because it was seen from the very beginning for the joke it really is! Europeans were all proud to bash the usa and say "we signed." Guess what, MOST EU countries have not met targets to meet the Kyoto Protocols and nevre will! Further although Clinton signed it, he was adament that Brazil, China, Russia, and India all signed it too or the treaty would likewise be useless. All in all, we live in a nice pretty hypocritical world. yes, Brazil, sign Kyoto, and act like most everyone else who has signed it....just ignore it!

Dear Mr. Cowman,

I read your article about the Kyoto Protocol and also the comments of some of your readers which amazed me so much.
Brazil, like any other country should indeed, be part of any move to decrease the emissions of GHG which is known to damage the environment.
I am currently "working" with a company developing an apparatus to be installed in every diesel buses in Sao Paulo which could reduce drastically the emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere and I am very proud that this product is 100% brazilian.
Some of your readers, mentioned about their countries having the cleanest industries, treatment of their rubbish and so on, but they forget to mentio that this has only been achieved through the implemention of environmental policies, investments and for sure the education of the population on this matter.
Brazil, is a very young nation and we need to be guided and incentivated to promoted these changes...less deforestation, water pollution, etc... not goaded as being as much polluters as countries like the USA. Them alone are responsible for near 35% of all GHG in the atmosphere and still today continue to do so.
We all need more Kyoto agreements and to be certain to have a cleaner planet for the next generations
Marcelo Durigan

The Clinton/Gore adminstration didn't sign it either. Having been to brazil a few times..........one thing brazil needs is more effective distribution. You can grow and manufacture all the things you want. If you can't get things from the interior to ports it creates problems.

Marcelo

You make a few interesting points, but I’ll take you to task on a couple of others.

All nations need to be “goaded”, and that does include the US, too. No nation should be immune from pressure to reduce their carbon burden. I’ve never believed in the “well, they’re worse so why can’t we be bad” mentality. This has been the historical cry from developing nations for far too long. It needs to stop.

Every nation needs to address this serious concern, and this is why Kyoto has so many detractors. For many, it will cash strap and penalize industrial nations (and NOT just the big polluters – think Scandinavia et. al), while poorer nations reap the financial benefits and continue to pollute. It renders the protocol completely useless in actually being able to reduce emissions; it gives the richer industrialized nations an easy, albeit costly, OUT in terms of reducing their emissions, and poorer countries will benefit financially, while not doing anything at all – it is seen as a cash swap and little else. In the end, as the consequences of global warming become more salient, the money received by poorer nations will be blood money

Brazil maybe a “young” nation, however, that excuse is getting old too, when you look to other, YOUNGER, nations having already reached the status of “developed nation”. Canada, Australia and New Zealand immediately come to mind. Instead of playing the victim card and to be taken seriously in the future nations like Brazil need to blaze their own trail and show the world that they are no longer a nation in need of hand outs and can address these issues on equal footing with the rest of the world.

There is no nation better positioned to make some serious inroads into addressing climate change than Brazil. Reducing deforestation does not mean an end to logging, it means seriously tackling illegal and predatory logging (70% of the deforestation in the Amazon is illegal). The laws are already in the books (as well, Brazil already has some of the toughest environmental policies in the world – pra ingles ever), it is just the enforcement that needs tweaking (or a full overhaul). Eliminating the import tax on solar and wind technologies, or better yet, investing in the development of these technologies to be created nationally will also go a long way. You’re an inventor, do you really need that helping hand from foreign investors, or would it suffice that the Brazilian government cut you a little slack in terms of officialdom and taxes?

We don’t need more Kyotos, we need one FAIR and FUNCTIONAL Kyoto. Beyond that, we need leaders in the world willing to take these issues seriously. Brazil could be one of those leaders, and you really don’t need to wait for hand outs to do it.

Best of luck with your endeavors.