17 June 2010: The World Bank has released a study titled "Brazil Low-Carbon Country Case Study," which finds that this country could reduce its gross greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 37% between 2010 and 2030, while maintaining the development goals set out by the government for that period, and without negatively affecting growth or jobs.
The study identifies areas with the greatest mitigation potential, including changes in land use (such as agriculture and deforestation), energy, transportation and waste management. In each of those areas, the study outlines opportunities to reduce emissions that would have no impact on economic development. The efficiency of these activities is measured against a reference scenario, tracing the current path into the future while incorporating different development levels.
The study also highlights that reaching a low-carbon scenario would require additional investments of around US$400 billion over 20 years. An average of US$20 billion in added annual investment would be required. This would represent less than 10% of the annual national investments in 2008, or less than half of the US$42 billion in loan disbursements by the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). These requirements also compare well with the Brazilian Government's Accelerated Growth Plan (PAC), which anticipated spending US$504 billion in 2007–10. [The Report]
