Decrease in deforestation drives drop in Brazil's emissions

by The Greenwood Team

A decrease in deforestation in the Amazon has driven a sharp drop in Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions in recent years, a Government study has claimed.

Emissions fell by 39 per cent between 2005 and 2010, the Government inventory stated. Greenwood was glad to see that a decline in deforestation rates contributed significantly to the drop in emissions, with analysis suggesting a 76 per cent drop in cumulative emissions from deforestation over the five-year period. This included improved forestry management techniques in the Amazon and the surrounding savannahs.

We are pleased to see that while the Brazilian Government has acknowledged that emissions are “still a very serious issue” and has vowed to tackle the problem even thought it is not going to be “a simple task” to keep the levels falling as urbanisation continues and wealth and industry spread.

Unfortunately, the forestry industry can only do so much to improve the situation. The level of greenhouse gases decreased by around ten per cent between 1990 and 2010, with 1.25 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted in 2010. However, this figure started to increase again slightly towards the end of the decade, with the recorded 2010 emission level slightly higher than that of 2009.

The rainforests across the country will have a powerful role to play in helping the country to cut its emissions. Fortunately, Brazil is already well on its way to reducing deforestation and protecting its valuable natural assets. In 2010, deforestation accounted for just 22 per cent of the country's total emissions; a significant change from earlier years when tree felling clocked up around two thirds of the country's greenhouse gas output.

This leaves the other sectors fighting to catch up. Agriculture, for example, now takes the largest share of the country's greenhouse gas output and emissions from this sector rose by 5.2 per cent between 2005 and 2010.

Energy is also proving to be a problem as Brazil requires more energy and the demand starts to push people into new areas of land in an attempt to supply more energy.