Agriculture, Now a Key Focus in Brazilian Carbon Emission Reduction Targets

Brazil`s agriculture ministry will seek to reduce carbon emissions from the farm sector by 1.1bn tonnes of CO2 under a new climate oriented agriculture (ABC+) program for (2020-30)  

The Plano ABC+ will be presented by the Brazilian government in the next United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, to be held in Scotland from October 31 to November 12.  

The revised goals were announced on Monday (October 18) by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply of Brazil, Tereza Cristina. To achieve this, the government intends to introduce sustainable production technologies nationwide on 72.68 million hectares over the next nine years. 

Agriculture accounted for 28% of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, according to the local think tank Observatorio do Clima. 

ABC + is the second iteration of a plan that was implemented for 2010-20 and it according to the ministry, reduced the equivalent of 170 million tons of CO2 in an area of ​​52 million hectares, thus exceeding the goal by 46 %. The program offers subsidized interest rates for low-carbon projects.  

Almost all of the techniques featured in the ABC + program have been used in tropical agriculture in Brazil.

Ever since the launch of the low carbon agricultural programme (ABC+) in Brazil in 2010 by the Brazilian cooperation agency, the agricultural superpower has left no stone unturned in recent years to make its agricultural sector sustainable and resilient in various ways and now they are aiming to make their agricultural industry a low carbon-emitting one. 

The policies taken by the Brazilian Government in Plano ABC+ makes it less taxing on the climate and the weather, this move is an essential one as it will surely help them reduce droughts in their region helping increase the amount of rainfall and in turn help increase the agricultural produce too.

Concerning this very ambitious project, the Brazilian Minister of Agriculture and livestock and supply Tereza Cristina told the press “We have one of the world’s most ambitious public policies in agriculture, with daring goals aimed at enhancing the sustainability in Brazilian production over the next decade and keep agriculture at the vanguard of efforts in tackling climate change” 

As for whether it will crash like Sri Lanka’s Organic farming policy or not, only time will tell.