The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, hosted a meeting, on May 2nd, 2023, with the European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius.
They declared their commitment to strengthen Brazil and European Union strategic climate and environment relationship and reiterated their strong commitment and willingness to cooperate in tackling the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, promoting sustainable development, and fostering a just and inclusive ecological transition.
Both sides stressed the need to provide an urgent climate response and make efforts to nature conservation and sustainable use. They stressed the commitment of both the EU and Brazil towards the fulfilment of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Both officials pledged to working together to enhance global governance and achieve ambitious results under the aegis of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Paris Agreement, and the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. Furthermore, they stressed the importance of the Convention on Biological Diversity and hailed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework as a fundamental step to curtail biological diversity loss and ensure that nature’s contributions to people are valued, maintained, and enhanced.
Brazil and EU reaffirmed their strong commitment towards the effective conservation, sustainable use and management of terrestrial, in-land water and marine and coastal areas.
They also welcomed the conclusion of an international legally binding instrument on marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), which represents a landmark and a clear commitment with the protection of the oceans and their natural resources and called for its swift ratification.
Minister Silva and Commissioner Sinkevičius followed-up on an EU proposal to explore and work on the preparations of the establishment of a ministerial “Brazil and EU High Level Climate & Environment Dialogue” under the EU-Brazil Strategic Partnership.
This Dialogue will have the purpose to promote the exchange of views on domestic climate change and environmental policies, bilateral cooperation projects, in addition to coordination for multilateral meetings and fora.
Minister Silva and Commisioner Sinkevičius recognized Brazil’s solid technical experience in relation to monitoring deforestation, in particular through the PRODES system.
Brazil reiterated their objective to reach zero deforestation by 2030.
The EU presented its deforestation regulation as a contribution to tackle global forest loss and support efforts to halt and reverse deforestation.
They expressed support to the significant ongoing efforts put forward by Brazil to reduce deforestation rates in all biomes, especially in the Amazon.
In this context, they also agreed to continue to collaborate and exchange views on how to deepen the Brazil-EU technical and financial cooperation.
Minister Silva and Commisioner Sinkevičius also discussed the positive role that the Amazon Fund has played as a transparent and solid results-based payments mechanism.
Brazil welcomed the EU´s willingness to join the Amazon Fund.
They discussed the opportunities offered by circular economy approaches, as well as the sustainable bioeconomy to deliver multiple benefits for the environment, society and the economy.
The potential for further cooperation on issues such plastics and waste management was highlighted.
They shared the interest in exploring possibilities for the promotion of collaborative research projects in the field of the sustainable bioeconomy, with a view to build and offer tailor-made solutions to the most urgent challenges, such as food security, climate change and biodiversity loss.
The need of providing business opportunities and better market access for sustainable products was also mentioned.
Both authorities emphasized the need of adopting a wide-ranging approach towards air and water quality, including the proper management of hazardous chemicals, microplastics and pesticides.
In this context, Brazil and EU highlighted the importance of achieving concrete results at the ongoing joint Meetings of the Parties (COP) of Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions, being held in Geneva, Switzerland.
Brazil and EU also expressed their support to the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) Resolution 5/14 that launched negotiations towards an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.
They agreed to cooperate towards an ambitious outcome of these negotiations, highlighting the importance of the upcoming Second Meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC2).
The two sides also discussed water challenges and agreed to engage in a dialogue also as a follow-up to the recent UN Water Conference and its Action Agenda.
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