The Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC) manifested itself last week in defense of further scientific research on the viability of exploring oil on the equatorial margin. There is no contrary position or favorable to exploration, but indication of which elements are required for decision making.
The Brazilian equatorial margin is a coastal track that covers the states of Amapá, Pará, Maranhão, Piauí, Ceará and Rio Grande do Norte, and where the existence of oil and natural gas reserves is analyzed.
The entity lists the requirements it considers required for exploration:
- Guarantee of full technical and legal security, including the detailed evaluation of the social and environmental impacts and the risks involved;
- Demonstration of the effectiveness of response and containment measures in case of accidents;
- Total transparency in decision -making processes;
- Conducting public consultations and clarification actions to society, especially populations that can be directly affected.
The president of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, Helena Nader, reinforces the importance of substantiating decisions with in -depth scientific knowledge, rigorous technical criteria and transparency.
“This is an environmentally sensitive and strategic region for the country. Expanding research, strengthening monitoring and ensuring effective mitigation plans are indispensable steps to protect local ecosystems and populations today and in the future,” says the president.
Environmental Risks
The report explains that the Brazilian equatorial margin comprises two large: one, in the Northern Region, associated with the mouth of the Amazonas River, and another in part of the east, in the eastern portion of the Northeast coast.
The northern part, although farther from the coast, has areas close to sensitive environments, with biodiversity -rich reefs and fishing impact. In addition, the adjacent coast is home to one of the largest continuous mangroves on the planet. These ecosystems store up to 50 times more carbon than other terrestrial biomes and act as biodiversity nurseries.
“It is essential to have a thorough planning of mitigation actions, especially in the face of the possibility of accidental spills,” says one of the excerpts of the document. It is pointed out that even countries with higher technical capacity. And there is a chance of accidents that cause irreversible damage.
Climatic goals
The researchers reinforce that Brazil needs to consider the climate goals with which it has committed and valued the fact that it is the headquarters of COP30, an event that will take place in Belém in November.
In this sense, they ask for a “transparent assessment of the role of any new sources of fossil fuels in the National Emissions Balance”. Therefore, the recommendation is that a CO2 emissions neutralization program associated with the eventual oil production in the equatorial margin is created.
The initiatives of this program would include:
- Reforestation projects of degraded areas;
- Development and implementation of advanced mangrove protection and restoration systems;
- Improvements in urban transport systems, focusing on transition to low carbon mobility;
- Investments in carbon capture and storage technologies (CCS), focused on effective neutralization of industrial emissions;
- Direct support to local communities through climate justice programs, sustainable income generation and strengthening social and environmental resilience.
The researchers responsible for the São Jailson Bittencourt report (ABC vice-president), Alvaro Prata (ABC board member and EMBRAPII CEO), Beatrice Padovani Ferreira (UFPE and Inpo), Luiz Drude de Lacerda (UFC, ABC and INPO), Milton Porsani (UFBA and ABC), Moacyr Araujo Filho (UFPE and UFPE INPO), Segen Estefen (COPPE/UFRJ, ABC and Director General of INPO) and Zelinda Margarida de Andrade Nery Leão (UFBA).
See also: Ibama abides Petrobras’s request and advances in the release of the equatorial margin
