Posted by Rachel
Al Gore is in Brazil this week, and attended an event at the Federação das Indústrias do Estado de São Paulo (the Sao Paulo Industrial Federation), where he gave a speech and discussed environmental conservation. 
While he stressed the issues of deforestation and conservation efforts, he was rightfully extremely careful to refer directly to environmental policy in Brazil, and apparently walked on eggshells, refusing to give an outright opinion on the Brazilian perspective. “If I was Brazilian, I’d discuss it, but I’m not, so I won’t,” he allegedly said.
He also apologized for discussing emissions, since the U.S. has higher carbon emissions than Brazil does, though he said he was optimistic about environmental policy change in the U.S. He also congratulated Brazil on the successful ethanol industry, which has the highest profits of any ethanol industry in the world.
At the end of the event, he was given an award by his hosts.
Posted by Rachel
The government of Acre, a small state in the Amazon rainforest that borders Peru, has launched a new plan aimed to curb deforestation. The proposal, which will go into effect in 2010, will monetarily reward Acre’s workers (including loggers, fish ranchers and indigenous tribes) who avoid cutting down trees and/or who actively protect the rainforest. People who produce the most using the smallest amount of space, and those who make a profit without affecting the environment will also receive funds.
Acre’s government plans to invest R$478 million (US$265.5 million) over the next fifteen years to cut down on carbon dioxide emissions. The first area to be targeted will be near the state’s largest highway, which suffers from some of the highest levels of deforestation. The government hopes to get some of its funding from a REDD program (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries), which is a compensation program for countries or companies that help cut down on carbon emissions.
Currently, 602 square kilometers of forest are destroyed each year in Acre. The plan hopes to minimize that number and bring it down to 120 square kilometers per year by 2020. If the plan works, an area as large as 3,649 square kilometers of forest could be saved. The plan would also have social benefits, as workers would receive financial compensation for doing their part in conserving the Amazon.
Posted by Rachel
This week, Brazil’s three biggest retailers announced that they will not purchase beef from blacklisted ranchers in the Amazon. According to a recently released report from Greenpeace, certain ranchers in the state of Pará are responsible for deforesting the Amazon and are causing destruction at a rapid rate. In fact, the report shows that ranching is the number one cause of Amazon deforestation.
In turn, CBD (the Pão de Açucar chain), Carrefour, and Walmart, along with 72 other retailers will stop buying meat from the offending ranchers. Also, the big three companies have decided to monitor their beef shipments closely and to conduct an assessment to make sure no meat comes from the deforesting ranchers. CBD reported a total of 11 banned companies.
The Greenpeace faults the Brazilian government for failing to live up to its commitment to reducing Amazon deforestion.
Posted by Rachel
Last Wednesday, world leaders met to discuss the formation of a fund to protect the world’s rainforests. The meeting included US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, French President Nicholas Sarkozy, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, as well as other leaders and environmental officials. The meeting, which took place in London, was at the request of Prince Charles, who is actively involved in the campaign against global warming.
Brazilian Tasso Azevedo, the head of the Brazilian Forest Service, one of the government bodies responsible for protecting the Amazon, attended the meeting. He reported that the proposed fund would raise US$10 - 15 billion per year, beginning in 2010. Brazil would be the largest beneficiary, and would receive up to US$4 billion per year to protect the Amazon.
According to Azevedo, the fund would include financing from both governments, companies and private donors. He also mentioned that the funding for each country would depend on the results of each country’s conservation efforts. An official proposal for the fund will be presented at the G-8 meeting in June.
Posted by Rachel
Let’s take a look at headlines from this week related to the environment and the Amazon.
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