"Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions rose 9.5% in 2020 with Amazon deforestation -study", 28 October 2021

Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions increased by 9.5% in 2020 largely due to increased deforestation in the Amazon during the second year of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro’s government, said a report published on Thursday by climate change experts.

While most countries generated less carbon emissions during the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Brazil in 2020 emitted 2.16 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (GtCO2e), up from 1.97 billion in 2019, according to the study.

Including greenhouse gas removal by secondary forests and protected areas, net emissions rose 14% last year to 1.52 GtCO2e, according to the so-called SEEG study sponsored by the Climate Observatory advocacy group.

“Deforestation continues to dominate our emissions, with an upward trend in the very year in which Brazil should start meeting Paris Climate Agreement targets,” said Tasso Azevedo, a climate expert coordinating the SEEG study.

The rise in deforestation will put Brazil at a disadvantage in climate negotiations at COP26, beginning on Sunday in Glasgow, said Climate Observatory head Marcio Astrini....