Brazil will play a central role in the next United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP 30, which will take place in Belém (PA) in November this year. For agribusiness, the occasion is seen not only as a showcase, but an opportunity to propose robust and economically viable environmental solutions.
During the “Agro in COP 30” panel, held on Friday (6) at Global Agribusiness Festival (), in São Paulo, experts reinforced that the country needs to reach the conference with a solid and articulated agenda between the public and private sectors, especially with regard to themes such as carbon credit, reforestation, bioeconomics and green financing.
“We have lost a chance to build a unified agenda since the announcement that the event would host, bringing together environmentalists and agro representatives,” said Marcello Brito, executive secretary of the Legal Amazon Consortium and counselor of Tropical Forest Alliance. Still, he recognizes that the positive point is that dialogues are gaining traction.
Brito pointed out that while other countries have their largest greenhouse gas emitters in the energy and transportation sectors in Brazil, the main challenge is in land use. According to him, the country needs to take advantage of its ability to lead a new agricultural revolution, now based on biotechnology and biodiversity, with greater valorization of environmental assets.
Transforming forests and carbon into economic assets
Suzano’s director of government relations (), Leonardo Merchar, stressed that the paper and pulp sector operates with strict environmental commitments and can contribute to practical solutions. He cited the daily planting of 1.2 million trees by the company in Brazil as an example of a direct contribution to the mitigation of emissions.
“From 2013 to 2023, we avoid the issuance of 40 million tons of CO₂. This connects with ours, which includes, for example, to tie more than 40% of the company’s debt to sustainable goals,” Merchant explained.
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Merchant also defended the strengthening of the business environment as a key piece to attract sustainable investments and develop the carbon market in the country. He recalled that Brazil has underused areas with unique potential in the world to generate environmental credits, but still suffers from regulatory and bureaucratic obstacles.
Urgency for concrete mechanisms
Both Brito and Merchant also pointed out that the Brazilian Emissions Trade System () is still locked, even after the approval of the law that establishes it. “We miss opportunities while the world discusses a theme in which Brazil could be generating wealth,” Merchant criticized.
Brito stressed that it is necessary to distinguish between carbon emissions and removals, especially in agribusiness, to advance efficient compensation mechanisms. He drew attention to the fact that Agro bears the environmental burden as other sectors, such as transportation, reap biofuels bonuses.
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“We know how much Agro emits, but we haven’t been able to measure well how much it removes. And worse, we don’t have financial tools today that reward the farmer for it,” he lamented.
Funds, Infrastructure and Biodiversity
Both panelists still converged as the green transition will only be viable if there is a financial return. According to Brito, global capital no longer wants to bet on philanthropy but invest with return. He defends the creation of and public policies that stimulate the private sector, as has been done in the past with the financing of the agricultural crop.
“The green economy needs to be treated with pragmatism. Without return, capital does not do. And without infrastructure, especially in the Amazon, any development plan is utopia,” he said.
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Merchant also emphasized that sustainable titles can be a way to enable the transition from companies that do not yet have technology or scale to meet environmental goals.
“Even Suzano, self -sufficient in energy, has serious logistics bottlenecks. That’s where the titles can make a difference,” he said, citing investments of $ 22 billion in Mato Grosso do Sul.
