US-Brazil Joint Statement on Climate Change: Main Highlights
US-Brazil Joint Statement on Climate Change: Main Highlights
Q.2: The US and Brazil have recently issued a joint statement on climate change. Examine its main highlights.
A joint statement on climate change has been issued by US President Barack Obama and Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff
Joint statement involved individual commitments towards lowering GHG emissions
It also incorporates bilateral mechanisms to prevent the planet from adverse impact of climate change
Main Highlights
- US and Brazil intend to raise share of renewables beyond hydropower in respective electricity generation mixes to level of 20% by 2030
- This implies that US and Brazil need to triple and double share of renewable energy within the next 15 years
- US will reduce GHG emissions by 26% to 28 percent below 2005 levels in 2025
- Brazil will work to restore and reforest 12 million ha of forests by 2030
- Both countries will also work on a multilateral basis in the Montreal Protocol to consider amendment proposals to phase down HFCs
- Joint Initiative on Climate Change will be implemented through new High Level Us-Brazil Climate Change Working Group working to improve bilateral cooperation on issues such as land use, clean energy, mitigation and adaptation and policy dialogues on domestic and global climate issues
- The two countries are also working on a bilateral joint program on Forest and Land Sector Investment to improve the investment climate in sustainable forest management and restoration, resiliency building, mitigation and adaptation of climate change, encouraging ecosystem services and contributing to enhanced income streams for farmers
Facts and Stats
- US is the second and Brazil is the 7th top GHG emitter
- US and China also issued a joint climate statement last month in May 2015
- In COP-21 (conference of parties) to be held in Paris in December 2015, a new protocol is anticipated to be ratified by parties to the UNFCC to replace the existing Kyoto Protocol in the year 2021
