Brazil to revise climate targets to cut emissions 53% by 2030 -sources

Brazil is expected to announce revised climate targets this week, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva strengthens a prior pledge made by his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, government officials with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Sources told Reuters in May that the government intended to revise the Bolsonaro-era target, while Lula said in June the country would make "necessary corrections" without giving details.

Brazil is expected to announce revised climate targets this week, as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva strengthens a prior pledge made by his predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, government officials with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The country will institute an annual cap of 1.32 gigatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, equivalent to a 50% reduction from 2005, said one Brazilian official, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media ahead of the announcement.

Brazil intends to cap 2030 emissions at 1.20 gigatonnes of greenhouse gas, a reduction of 53% compared to 2005, the source said. Brazil's new climate change targets would be more ambitious than the United States, which has pledged to cut emissions by 50-52% by 2030, also compared to 2005. The person said that capping the emissions in gigatonnes would bring clarity and put the new target on a par with Brazil's original 2015 target.

Lula is expected to focus heavily on climate change in a speech on Tuesday at the United Nations General Assembly. The leftist president has staked his reputation on restoring Brazil's environmental stewardship after soaring deforestation of the Amazon rainforest under Bolsonaro.

Roughly half of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions come from deforestation and other land use. Soon after nearly 200 countries agreed to the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change, Brazil pledged to cut its emissions by 43% by 2030, compared to 2005 levels.

Bolsonaro, facing international pressure on rising deforestation, increased that figure to 50% – but his government also raised the 2005 baseline so the new pledge was easier to meet than the old target. Sources told Reuters in May that the government intended to revise the Bolsonaro-era target, while Lula said in June the country would make "necessary corrections" without giving details.

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