Reuters
Sao Paulo
Brazil’s annual greenhouse gas emissions increased last year for the first time since 2004 after years of reductions as deforestation and the use of thermal power plants rose, a new study found.
Latin America’s largest economy generated 1.56bn tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in 2013, a 7.8% jump over the previous year, according to a report released by the Climate Observatory, a network of civil society organisations.
Emissions from deforestation rose 16% over the previous year while those from the energy sector climbed 7.3%.
The numbers can be expected to fuel criticism from environmental groups over the government’s Amazon protection policies and its increasing use of fossil-fuelled power plants.
The report also suggests that Brazil could fail to meet its goal of reducing emissions by 39% by 2020.
“We see the tendency for emissions to rise again in 2014 even considering a stagnant economy, so if Brazil manages to resume economic growth in the future it will be hard to meet the target,” said Tasso Azevedo, the study’s co-ordinator.
The government, however, does not see a new trend for emissions. “You have to consider longer periods of time to conclude that a new trend is in place,” said Adriano Santiago, the government’s climate change director. “Several sectors are indeed increasing emissions, but inside an expected range that will still allow us to meet our commitments.”
Brazil found success combating deforestation in the last decade, cutting carbon emissions in the process. Compared to a peak of 2.86bn tonnes of CO2e emitted in 2004, the 2013 number is still 45% lower.
But deforestation rose again last year by 16%, as current policies failed to deter forest destruction caused mainly by illegal logging and cattle ranching expansion.
