A plan to tackle climate change and minimize its impacts in Brazil has been drawn up and is now open for public consultation. The plan, formulated by several Brazilian government ministries and the Brazilian Forum of Climate Change will be available for public consultation until the end of October.
After relevant suggestions have been incorporated, the plan will be sent to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in November for approval. The Forum of Climate Change is an umbrella organization aiming to stimulate public awareness and dialogue, and incorporate climate change issues into public policies
"Brazil has done its part in the mitigation of climate change and is determined and committed to doing more, using its full national capacity as part of an overall effort to combat climate change," says the plan, released on September 29.
The recommendations are organized into four lines of action: mitigation; vulnerability, impact and adaptation; research and development; and empowerment and divulgation.
Goals include getting 7,000 megawatts of power from renewable energy between 2008 and 2010, increasing production of ethanol from 25.6 billion liters in 2008 to 53.2 billion liters by 2017, and preventing the release of 570 million tons of carbon dioxide between 2008 and 2017 by using biofuels.
Targets will be met by promoting sustainable development in the industrial and agricultural sectors, maintaining a high proportion of renewable energy in the electricity production, encouraging the use of biofuels in the transportation sector, and reducing deforestation.
Other elements include a moratorium on the selling of soybeans that come from deforested areas of the Brazilian Amazon, and the elimination of ozone-damaging chlorofluorocarbon gases (CFCs) with the replacement of one million old refrigerators per year.
"This initiative is important because it helps to incorporate climate issues into all government programs and projects," said Suzana Kahn Ribeiro, secretary of climate change and environment quality of the Brazilian Ministry of Environment. She adds that another important task of the new plan is to foster public awareness about climate change and its impacts on Brazil.
To support the plan, the Brazilian government will create economic, technical, political and institutional mechanisms, such as laws and funding, over the next few years.
The plan will be delivered in phases, beginning in 2009. "The National Plan on Climate Change is a dynamic project. During its execution, we can add new goals and strategies if necessary," says Ribeiro.
Brazil's National Plan on Climate Change, in Portuguese:
http://www.mma.gov.br/index.php?ido=conteudo.monta&idEstrutura=169
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