President Lula will present the completed plan to combat deforestation at COP31, while the roadmap for reducing fossil fuels has been postponed to 2027.
The Brazilian government has outlined the diplomatic and environmental strategy that will lead to COP31, held in Antalya, Turkey. President Lula will show world leaders a structured plan to curb vegetation loss, but will delay delivering the final proposal for the energy transition.
The decision sets that the detailed roadmap to reduce dependence on fossil fuels will only be delivered at COP32 in 2027, in Ethiopia. For this year’s conference, the country will present only the general guidelines approved by the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE).
The scenario highlights the challenges of the country’s environmental diplomacy. The government seeks to balance global sustainability leadership with the continuation of oil exploration projects on the Equatorial Margin.
Fossil fuel strategy postponed to 2027
During a government meeting, the CNPE approved 18 strategic guidelines that will guide the future document. The standards consider maintaining energy security, impacts on public revenues, fluctuations in input prices, and subsidy reviews.
An interministerial working group will have 270 days to consolidate the final report. The study will be directly aligned with the National Energy Transition Plan and the Climate Plan guidelines.
“We managed to approve the embryo of the roadmap discussion.”
President Lula‘s statement signals the formal start of the agenda within the federal administration. Civil House Minister Miriam Belchior emphasized that Brazil’s commitment for this year was to establish technical parameters, without promising to deliver the finalized proposal.
Deforestation plan arrives strengthened
Conversely, the roadmap focused on deforestation was completed by the Interministerial Climate Change Committee (CIM). The text aligns national planning with the Paris Agreement goals to eliminate forest degradation by 2030.
The project operates on four pillars: conservation, forest restoration, combating wildfires and environmental crimes, and creating economic incentives for protecting native vegetation. The plan is based on indicators gathered by the Prodes system of the INPE.
Official data show a significant slowdown in degradation rates between 2022 and 2026. Rates fell 71.2% in the Legal Amazon and 48.4% in the Cerrado biome.
Emission targets and international financing
Secretary of the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, João Paulo Capobianco, highlighted recent national inventory data. The survey indicates a 27% reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions between 2022 and 2024.
The drop represents a reduction equivalent to 560 million tons of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.
In the financial arena, President Lula will present the progress of the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF), which has already raised US$ 7.8 billion with a goal of reaching US$ 10 billion. The balance of the Amazon Fund, managed by BNDES, will also be presented with R$ 7.8 billion invested in conservation projects.
With the commitments made for COP31, Brazilian diplomacy gains time to forge internal agreements on the energy mix. The conclusion of discussions on fossil fuels is expected to be the central focus of the country’s efforts toward the 2027 climate meeting.