São Paulo – The diversification of the economies in oil-dependent countries is part of the agenda of negotiations for the world climate agreement, to be presented at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, due in Copenhagen, Denmark, from December 7th to 18th. According to the chief negotiator of the Brazilian government for the convention, ambassador Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado, diversification is being discussed in the agreement. Machado spoke to the press this Tuesday (10th) upon returning from the seventh round of negotiation of the convention, in Spain. It was the last round before Copenhagen.
According to him, dependence on oil is a concern of Arab countries. Many of them have their economy and exports based around the commodity. “The Arabs are traditionally important players in the negotiations. They have concerns that are specific to oil producing countries,” said Machado, who explained that the Arabs are organizing a local debate to address the matter of economic diversification. According to him, it has not been defined yet whether the diversifying actions will be taken using funds specified in the climate agreement.
According to the ambassador, a global fund for fighting climate change should be established, and it may be used for funding actions aiming to reduce emissions in developing countries. “But it seems reasonable to me that some of the funds should come from the countries themselves,” said Machado, regarding the diversification of economy in oil producing countries. According to him, even though Brazil produces the commodity, its economy is not dependent on oil, and thus the country does not fit the description. “Brazil has a diversified economy,” he says.
Machado has not drawn a very favourable picture of the progress of negotiations for the agreement. According to him, important matters have not been solved, such as the financing of actions in developing countries. The convention provides for action to be funded by industrialized countries, but so far, the most concrete option is the possibility of a global fund. The carbon emission reduction targets for developed nations have not been agreed upon either. Industrialized countries will need to reduce their emissions, according to goals to be set at the convention, and starting on a specific date.
Developing countries, in turn, are going to announce by themselves the actions that they will take in order to reduce emissions. They will not, however, be committed to the reduction in itself, only with the actions. “The actions are going to be monitored in developing countries,” says the ambassador. The Brazilian government should announce, within four days, the environmental plan that it will adopt in Copenhagen. The Brazilian Chief of Staff, Dilma Roussef, announced yesterday that Brazil should commit, in Copenhagen, to reducing its carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 40%.
Machado preferred not to comment on the announcement. According to him, if Brazil presents a proposal with high figures, it will be contributing to success in Copenhagen. “By doing that, Brazil will be a part of the solution, rather than the problem,” he claims. According to him, some developed countries are having problems trying to translate the goals that they announce in the press into actual figures in the realm of negotiations. “Presently, developing countries seem more willing to help than many developed countries,” stated Machado.
How about carbon?
According to the ambassador, it has not been defined, during negotiations, which will be the carbon credit market rules. In other words, what type of actions will be eligible for conversion into carbon credits to be sold by developing nations to industrialized ones, so as to make up for emissions. One of the debates, in this field, is carbon credit for prevented deforestation. The mechanism is being called Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (Redd).
According to Machado, the Redd should be regarded, in this convention, as an action of developing countries. According to him, the European stance is favourable to its inclusion, but only in the future, in the carbon credit market. Brazil, according to the Brazilian negotiator, is interested in a robust carbon credit market. The country is the third largest in the world in number of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects, after China and India. Machado is the head of the Department of Environment and Special Affairs of the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
