President of COP-26 and Mapa discuss initiatives

The president of COP-26, Alok Sharma, was at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, in Brasília, to participate in a round table on the transformation of the agricultural sector.

Mapa's executive secretary, Marcos Montes, reaffirmed the Brazilian government's commitment, through Mapa, to continue working to strengthen the sustainability of agricultural production chains. “We are definitely committed to the decarbonization of production chains, always from a perspective that includes both mitigation and adaptation activities to the impacts of climate change”

During COP-26, in November last year, Brazil joined the global commitment to reduce methane emissions and also the Glasgow declaration on forests and land use. Sharma said it is important for Brazil to define long-term strategies for implementing the goals.

“Brazil is one of the largest meat exporters in the world. Reaching zero emissions by 2050 will require a long-term strategy and we are committed to continuing to collaborate with Brazil,” he said. He also highlighted that the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 will bring, in addition to a huge environmental benefit, economic opportunities for rural producers.

Montes also highlighted the potential for cooperation between Brazil and the United Kingdom to reduce emissions in the agricultural sector. “The long and successful history of cooperation in agriculture between Brazil and the United Kingdom reflects our shared vision of the fundamental role of science and innovation in the development of modern, low-carbon agriculture, which simultaneously contributes , for the generation of wealth, for global food security and for the preservation of the planet”, he said.

Ambassador Melanie Hopkins, charge d'affaires at the United Kingdom embassy in Brasília, highlighted the country's intention to advance its partnership with Brazil on sustainability projects, such as the ABC Plan. “We are a country that looks to the future and we believe in the current and future potential of Brazilian agriculture. We think ABC is a model for the world.”

Mapa's Secretary of Innovation, Sustainable Development and Irrigation, Fernando Camargo, spoke about strengthening cooperation between Brazil and the United Kingdom in sustainable agriculture. “It is a successful partnership and I am sure that we will continue working together and we will be able to achieve the agreed goals with relative ease”.

Last year, Sharma visited Embrapa Cerrados, in the Federal District, where he got to see up close the showcase of experiments with Crop-Livestock-Forest Integration (ILPF) systems and other initiatives contributing to Brazilian agriculture's contribution to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. greenhouse effect, such as the ABC Plan. “What you saw in practice, we are trying to expand to the largest possible area in Brazil today”, said Fernando Camargo.

Also participating in the debate were the president of Embrapa, Celso Moretti, the general coordinator of Climate Science and Sustainability of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations, Márcio Rojas, and the vice-president of the Brazilian Agriculture and Livestock Confederation (CNA) , Muni Lourenço.