USA, Brazil issued Joint Statement on Climate Change

Presidents of the United States of America and Brazil Barack Obama and Dilma Dilma Rousseff respectively on 30 June 2015 issued a joint statement on climate change in Washington, the USA.

The joint statement includes individual commitments towards reducing green house gas (GHG) emissions and bilateral mechanisms to protect the planet from the adverse effects of climate change.

Takeaways from the joint statement on climate change

• The USA and Brazil each intend to increase the share of renewables – beyond hydropower – in their respective electricity generation mixes to the level of 20 percent by 2030. This means the USA and Brazil will need to triple and double, respectively, their share of renewable energy in the next 15 years.
• The USA will reduce GHG emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent below 2005 levels in 2025.  
• Brazil intends to restore and reforest 12 million hectares of forests by 2030.
• Both the countries agreed to work multilaterally in the Montreal Protocol to consider promptly amendment proposals to phase down HFCs.
• A  Joint Initiative on Climate Change  will be implemented through a new high-level United States-Brazil Climate Change Working Group (CCWG) aimed at enhancing bilateral cooperation on issues relating to land use, clean energy, and adaptation, as well as policy dialogues on domestic and international climate issues.
• A bilateral joint Program on Forest and Land Sector Investment will be launched to improve the conditions for attracting investments in sustainable forest management and forest restoration, encouraging the provision of ecosystem services, building resilience, mitigating climate change, and contributing to improved income streams for farmers.

Comment

The targets announced by both the countries assume significance as the USA and Brazil are the second and the seventh top GHG emitters respectively.

Earlier, similar to the present statement, the USA and China reached an agreement in November 2014, Brazil and China issued a joint climate statement in May 2015, the EU and China issued a joint statement on climate change in June 2015 delineating the road map for coordinated action in the Conference of Parties (COP)-21 to be held in Paris in December 2015.

In the COP-21, a new protocol is expected to be ratified by the parties to the UNFCC that will replace the existing Kyoto Protocol in 2021.

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