Brazil

The Brazilian competition watchdog approved on Tuesday that the country's soy ban will continue through at least the end of this year. CADE's 5-1 vote marked a dramatic change after its reporting councilor in the case voted against the appeal of soybean traders and processors. The private pact, which has been in place for two decades, aims to protect the Amazonian rainforest by prohibiting soybean traders from purchasing from farmers who have cleared land after July 2008. However, it could be a violation of Brazilian competition laws. Back and Forth CADE's Superintendent ordered the agreement to be suspended in August....

Hundreds of environmental groups and human rights organizations have urged COP30 - the global climate summit that will be held in Brazil, this November - to address the historical causes of the climate crises and to put reparations at the top of the agenda. The letter argues historical crimes such as slavery and colonialism created global inequalities of resource access. It also drove asymmetrical emissions and increased vulnerability to natural disasters. Signatories of the petition said that "climate justice is not possible without reparatory justice." Originally launched by organizations such as Brazil's Instituto Luiz Gama, and the Caribbean Pan African...

Local media reported that the Chinese architect Kongjian Yu was killed in a plane accident late Tuesday night in the vast Brazilian marshes of Mato Grosso do Sul, citing both police and firefighters. Brazilian media reported that Yu, along with three others, including a pilot and two local film makers, died when their aircraft crashed near Aquidauana in the Pantanal Wetlands. Firefighters confirmed that a plane crashed in the area, but they did not identify the victims. They said the four men aboard were killed instantly. Yu's work was featured on the opening program for the Sao Paolo International Architecture...

At a United Nations conference in New York, Brazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva announced a $1 billion investment into the Tropical Forests Forever Facility. This multilateral funding mechanism has been proposed to support the conservation of endangered forest. Brazil is the first country in the world to make a commitment to the Forest Fund. The announcement confirmed an earlier report citing sources. Lula stated that Brazil will be the first to set an example by investing $1 billion in the forest fund. He added that he expected other countries to announce similar contributions. Sources said the move was...

Two people familiar with the plans said that Brazil would announce a $1billion investment in the Tropical Forests Forever Facility. This multilateral funding mechanism is intended to help conserve endangered forests. Sources say that the investment will be announced later Tuesday by Brazilian President Luiz inacio Lula da So at an event hosted by the United Nations in New York. Brazil is the first country to make a commitment to the Forest Fund. Sources say the move is intended to encourage contributions from wealthy economies and developing countries, who have had disagreements over funding global climate policies. According to those...

Jessica Roswall, the Environment Commissioner, announced on Tuesday that the European Union would delay its anti-deforestation legislation for a second year. This will also postpone a ban on palm oil imports, which are linked to deforestation. After complaints from Brazil, Indonesia, and the administration of then-U.S. president Joe Biden and other industries and trading partners in Europe and North America, Brussels delayed the law for an additional year. Roswall told reporters that postponing the implementation of the law was necessary to address concerns about the large volumes of information needed to enter into the information-technology system to enforce the law...

AgRural, an agribusiness consulting firm, said that Brazil's soybean planting was at 0.9% of total area expected for the 2025/26 crop season as of last week, which is in line with the planting progress last year. AgRural reported that planting has intensified on the fields in Parana, Mato Grosso and Rondonia states. AgRural reported that "good rainfall forecasts for many areas in the country will give a boost to work this week, despite the low humidity." Conab, a Brazilian crop agency, said that Brazilian farmers would sow soy on approximately 49.08 millions hectares (121.279 acres) of land. The agency forecasts...

Climate Week will kick off in New York City on Sunday, marking the biggest year ever for the event. Organizers report a record number companies participating and more than ever events to attend. This response was almost unanticipated in an event-hosting country that is the wealthiest nation on the planet. The host has a climate-denying program of increasing fossil fuels and rolling back pollution regulations, and defunding U.S. climate science and action. Climate Week organizers even wondered if people would show up, said Climate Group Chief executive Officer Helen Clarkson. Clarkson stated that there was a lot of enthusiasm for...

On Wednesday night, less than two months before Belem welcomes heads of state to the U.N. Climate Summit COP30 in the Brazilian city, pop star Mariah Carey performed with a cast local artists at a floating concert for the Amazon rainforest. The concert was part of the two-day "Amazon Live Today and Forever" event, organized by Rock World. The company that organizes the music festivals Rock in Rio and The Town. Carey, 56 years old, was able to captivate more than 70,000 Sao Paulo fans on Saturday when she appeared at The Town. Fans watched from another location as the...

The United Nations has asked its staff to limit their attendance at the COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil, which will take place in November. Meanwhile, government delegations continue to scramble to find hotels within their budgets. As delegations become increasingly concerned over the rising cost of accommodation, the city of Belem on the coast of the Amazon is hosting the COP30. Brazil is working on nearly doubling the number of hotel beds available, but rising prices have led some governments to call for a relocation of the COP30 conference. Brazilian officials, however, have refused. In a UNFCCC document, Simon Stiell,...

According to a Monday statement, Brazil's JBS - the world's biggest meat company - has delivered 123 765 ear tags for tracking cattle individually in Para state. This could be a turning point in efforts aimed at halting deforestation of the Amazon. Para adopted a law late in 2023 that requires ranchers to identify their cattle in the state by the end 2026. JBS has said that it will deliver 2,000,000 tags to small ranchers of the state in partnership with The Nature Conservancy. JBS reported that 65,902 of the tags delivered to farmers have been attached to the ears...

Food retailers in Europe have called on grain traders around the world to support Brazil's soy ban initiative. The pact is designed to protect Amazon rainforests from deforestation caused by soy, and farmers are trying to stop the program. In a letter seen by food grocers such as Tesco, Sainsbury's and Aldi, they ask CEOs from ADM, Bunge and Cargill to publicly confirm their commitment to ban soybean purchases made by Amazonian farmers after the 2008 deadline. The letter stated: "We write to you at an important moment for the future Amazon Soy Moratorium. An initiative that your companies have...

The Brazilian antitrust agency CADE will start reviewing an appeal by oilseeds lobby Abiove, and grain traders including Cargill, Bunge and Bunge against a measure that ordered the companies to suspend the enforcement of the soy-moratorium program. A notice published on Tuesday in the official journal stated that the six members of the CADE tribunal would begin voting on the appeals on September 30. As government agencies fight over the legality of the moratorium - a corporate pact that has been in place for 20 years - the fate of this corporate pact, which is credited with slowing the deforestation...

Climate Week will kick off in New York City on Sunday, marking the biggest year ever for the event. Organizers report a record number companies participating and more than ever events to attend. This response was almost unanticipated in an event-hosting country that is the wealthiest nation on the planet. The host has a climate-denying program of increasing fossil fuels and rolling back pollution regulations, and defunding U.S. climate science and action. Climate Week organizers even wondered if people would show up, said Climate Group Chief executive Officer Helen Clarkson. Clarkson stated that there was a lot of enthusiasm. Climate...

Three people familiar with the plans said that Brazil would be the first to announce an investment into the Tropical Forests Forever Facility. This multilateral funding mechanism was proposed by Brazil to support the conservation of endangered forest globally. The President Luiz inacio Lula da So will announce the investment at the U.N. on Tuesday in New York. This is a move to unlock more contributions both from wealthy and developing countries, who have been at odds over funding global climate policies. The Brazilian government believes that the TFFF could be the main deliverable for the U.N. Climate Summit known...

In light of the rising costs of accommodation in Belem, an Amazonian city, the U.N. is giving low-income countries additional money to attend COP30. This global climate summit will take place in Brazil in November. Brazil has resisted the calls for the conference to be moved from Belem. President Luiz inacio Lula da So did not want to renege on his promise to show the Amazon rainforest at COP30. A spokesperson for the U.N. Climate Secretariat informed that the International Civil Service Commission of the U.N., which makes decisions on the "daily allowance", has agreed to increase it for Belem....

Brazil will propose the establishment of a forum where governments can discuss the impact climate policy has on trade. This is an issue that both the U.N. Climate talks and the World Trade Organization have failed to address, according to three officials who are familiar with the plan. The European Union has been accused by emerging economies such as Brazil, South Africa, and India of restricting the trade with its environmental policies. One example is a December ban on imports that are linked to deforestation. The EU said that trade discussions should take place at the World Trade Organization. Brazil,...

BTG Pactual, a Brazilian lender, and International Finance Corporation (the private sector arm of the World Bank) announced Thursday that they would invest up to $1 billion on sustainable development and sustainability initiatives. Why it's important Globally, the private sector has become increasingly involved in sustainability. Private institutions are promoting climate finance as well as development-focused investments. Brazil is the home of much of Amazon Rainforest and is a crucial region for biodiversity and solutions to climate change. BTG Pactual, Latin America's biggest investment bank, is headquartered in Brazil. By the Numbers By the end of 2028, the partnership will...

The Brazilian antitrust authority suspended the "soy moratorium" on Tuesday, a private agreement enforced globally by grain traders to protect Amazon rainforests from deforestation caused by soy. This is in response to the set of measures implemented by the agency Monday, which included launching a full-blown investigation into 30 traders and groups for alleged practices anti-competitive. The soy ban, which has been hailed for years as one of most successful initiatives in protecting the Amazon rainforests, prohibits soybean traders from purchasing from farmers that cleared land after July 2008. The CADE General Superintendent regulator ruled, however, that the soy moratorium...

The Brazilian antitrust authority suspended the "soy moratorium" on Tuesday, a private agreement enforced globally by grain traders to protect Amazon rainforests from deforestation caused by soy. The soy ban has been touted as one of most effective initiatives to protect Amazon rainforests because it prohibits soybean traders from purchasing from farmers that cleared land in the Amazon after July 2008. The General Superintendent of the Brazilian antitrust regulator CADE ruled on Monday that this represents a possible breach of Brazilian competition laws. After completing a preliminary inquiry, Superintendent Alexandre Barreto de Souza issued an order to firms that they...

The executive secretary to the President's Office said that on Friday, Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva had signed into law a measure easing the rules for environmental licensing, but vetoed several provisions. The "Devastation Bill", as it is called by environmentalists and supported by Brazil's powerful agricultural community, significantly weakens the environmental controls of licensing processes. States and municipalities will have more authority to grant licenses for business development. Agribusiness has supported the bill, as it will make it easier to expand operations in environmentally sensitive regions. Miriam Belchior, executive secretary of Lula's office, confirmed that Lula had...

Standard Chartered will sell millions of credits to protect the Amazon rainforest for the Brazilian state Acre, as part of its efforts to expand the carbon credit business and build trust in a nascent industry. Standard Chartered said that its agreement with Acre to sell exclusively forest carbon credits over a five-year period is the first time a major international financial institution has worked in such a way to support the conservation of forests. The involvement of the bank could give legitimacy to a market that has been struggling in recent months, after Brazilian prosecutors sought to cancel a similar...

Brazil has refused to move the COP30 global climate summit scheduled for November from Belem despite mounting pressure due to the soaring prices of accommodation in the Amazonian City. Andre Correa do Lago (President of COP30) told reporters Friday that the COP and the Leaders' Summit will both be held in Belem. "There is no Plan B." The annual U.N. Summit will bring together nearly all governments in the world to discuss their efforts to combat climate change. Pre-summit talk has been dominated by concerns over logistics rather than global policy. The Developing Countries have said that they can't afford...

Brazil has refused to move the global COP30 summit scheduled for November from Belem despite mounting pressure due to the soaring prices of accommodation in the Amazonian City. Andre Correa do Lago (President of COP30) told reporters Friday that the COP and the Leaders' Summit will both be held in Belem. "There is no Plan B." The annual U.N. Summit will bring together nearly all governments in the world to discuss their efforts to combat climate change. Pre-summit talk has been dominated by concerns over logistics rather than global climate policies. The cheapest accommodation in Belem has risen dramatically due...