By AFP - Agence France Presse
Brazil announces emission cut plans at UN Supreme Court.
By Richard CARTER
Brazil's planned cuts in greenhouse gas emissions are more ambitious than the programs of countries that have historically emitted more harmful gases, Brazil's climate change envoy told the UN's top court on Tuesday.
Speaking during the climate change hearings at the International Court of Justice, Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado said that Brazil is doing more than its historical emissions would require of the country.
“Brazil's commitment... goes far beyond what could reasonably be expected based on our historical responsibility for rising global temperatures,” said Machado.
Despite the economic and social challenges facing Brazil, the country has adopted a plan that seeks to reduce emissions throughout the developing economy, he said.
“The ambition, scale, and scope of Brazil's effort reflect a level of ambition that often exceeds that of developed countries that historically emit a lot,” he said.
In November, Brazil announced plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions more drastically than originally projected.
Instead of the previous target of reducing emissions by 59% on 2005 levels by 2035, the objective will be a 67% reduction, said the left-wing government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The new target would allow for the emission of around 850 million to one billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 2035, compared to 2.4 billion tons in the base year of 2005.
“This is the ambition of a nation that faces much higher capital costs and less fiscal space than developed countries to finance its just transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient development,” said Machado.
However, international NGOs have said that Brazil's efforts are not enough.
Romain Ioualalen, Global Policy Campaign Manager at Oil Change International, said that Brazil had missed an opportunity to show climate leadership, noting that the country planned to increase oil and gas production by 36% by 2035.
“Brazil's initial climate target for 2035 is minimally sufficient but falls short of true ambition,” said Andreas Sieber, Associate Director of Global Policy and Campaigns at 350. org.
Brazil will host the next UN global climate conference, COP30, next November in the Amazonian city of Belém.
The country is “fully aware of the devastating impacts of climate change,” said Machado.
“Our people have faced extreme weather events, from severe droughts in the north to relentless rains and floods in the south.”
At the historic hearings at the ICJ, more than 100 countries and organizations will present their views on climate change - the largest number ever.
The UN has asked the ICJ for a so-called “advisory opinion” on the obligations of nations to deal with climate change and the legal consequences for states that cause climate damage.
The ICJ is likely to take months, if not years, to issue its opinion, which critics say would have limited impact due to its non-binding nature.
At the opening of proceedings on Monday, a representative from Vanuatu, which led the initiative to take the case to the ICJ, said that the future of the planet was at stake during the hearings.
“This may well be the most important case in human history,” Vanuatu's climate change representative Ralph Regenvanu told the 15-judge bench.
ric/jhe/bc
コメント