Brazil seeks to advance Mission 1.5 at COP28

he Brazilian delegation to COP28 held a press briefing on Day 6 of the conference to provide an update on progress in the negotiations. At the same time, the speakers took the opportunity to emphasize Brazil’s overarching priority at COP28, which is to ensure that the average global temperature does not exceed 1.5oC.

The speakers included the head of delegation and Minister for the Indigenous Peoples, Sonia Guajajara; the Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change, João Paulo Capobianco; the Secretary for Climate, Energy and Environment of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, André Corrêa do Lago; and the National Secretary for Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Ana Toni.

Minister Guajajara said that she was proud to head Brazil’s delegation during COP28 thematic day of the indigenous peoples. COP28 is being attended by more indigenous people than ever before. She said that indigenous peoples are a part of the solution of the climate crisis, adding that “we are 5% of the world’s population but are stewards of 82% of the biodiversity of the planet”.

João Paulo Capobianco referred to Brazil’s success in reducing deforestation by 49% between January and October 2023, avoiding 250m tonnes of emissions – a major achievement that was labelled by the Prime-Minister of Norway as “the most important climate news of the year” – and recalled that Brazil had presented the initiative “Tropical Forests Forever Facility”.

The chief negotiator of the Delegation, Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, stressed the sense of urgency that needs to inspire the fight against climate change, which is why Brazil proposed “Mission 1.5”. At the time of the Paris Agreement, science had not yet fully explained the consequences of a 1.5oC warming – but now that they are clear, it is clear that we should forge a sense of purpose to cap warming at that level.

“The most consequential outcome of COP28 will be the Global Stocktake, which must be based on science and on equity”, Corrêa do Lago explained. “It will inform countries as they discuss climate finance in COP29 and develop the second round of NDCs, to be submitted by 2025, at COP30. The path from Dubai to Belém will be decisive for humanity’s success in fighting climate change,” he added.

The questions from the media covered a variety of issues, including fossil fuels. The delegation explained that Brazil benefits from a variety of transition options, including biofuels and green hydrogen. Recalling the statement delivered by the BASIC group (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) at the opening session, the delegation stressed that developed countries should take the lead in phasing-out fossil fuel production and consumption, in an accelerated manner.

Regarding the relationship between trade and environment, the speakers explained that trends towards unilateralism, protectionism and fragmentation of international cooperation jeopardize trust and, consequently, ambitious climate action. Both the Rio 1992 Declaration and UNFCCC state that trade policy measures for environmental purposes should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade, which is why Brazil is raising these issues both here at COP28 and at the World Trade Organization.