MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Sustainable goals require funding, Brazilian minister tells Glasgow

Leite is Brazil's highest-ranking authority at Glasgow after Bolsonaro chose not to attend

Brazil's Environment Minister Joaquim Leite Wednesday demanded attendees at Glasgow's COP26 Summit that it was up to the wealthiest countries in the world to provide for the financing of the developing nations' clean development strategies.

“We need more resources than the US $ 100 billion; these days a study came from a bank talking about US $ 5 trillion,” Leite said at the Scottish capital.

Developing countries are in need of funding to reshape their economies and adapt to the world's goals reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases.

”What is the great challenge in this second week (COP26)? Talk about financing and incentives“ to carry out environmentally sustainable projects, Leite explained.

The minister was just following on the steps of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who first broke the need of financial support to his US colleague Joseph Biden back in April this year.

The Brazilian delegate insisted his country had pledged to completely eliminate illegal deforestation of the Amazon and other biomes by 2028 and to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.

Leite is Brazil's highest ranking dignatary at the Summit following Bolsonaro's decision not to attend the global event. It is said that under Bolsonaro, deforestation of Amazonia has grown sharply.

Brazil's role at COP26 is to ”seek a multilateral consensus so that we can move towards a greener economy; the challenge is not to stop economic development“ in the Amazon, Leite said Tuesday.

“I think the global challenge is a responsible transition to carbon neutrality. Quickly, but responsibly,” Leite also pointed out.

The minister also cited a study by the Boston Consulting group according to which the world will need US $ 150 billion over the next 30 years if it wants to meet the Paris Agreement goals.

”Brazil's role [at COP26] is to try to find a multilateral consensus so that we move fairly towards a greener economy. The great challenge is financing, the [financial] incentive. The challenge is not to punish, prohibit or stop [economic development]. It's about accelerating towards a new green economy. And how do I do it? By incentivizing. With innovation,” he said.

“Brazil clearly supports this movement that the solution for a new economy, neutral in emissions, lies in the incentive, in entrepreneurship, in the green interest, that makes any project be maintained. And many projects, in some regions, still do not have the capacity to make this transition that everyone expects,” Leite elaborated.