REDD+ Brasil

Brazil welcomed the submission of forest reference emission levels (FREL) by Colombia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Mexico, which took place yesterday in COP20. Brazil was the first country to submit its FREL in June, 2014. This Monday was “REDD+ Day” in COP20. “We are very happy to see other countries also engaging in implementing the Warsaw Framework for REDD+ by submitting their reference levels for REDD+ payments”. This was the opening statement by Adriano Santhiago de Oliveira, Director of the Climate Change Department of the Ministry of Environment of Brazil, in the “REDD+ Day” event. REDD+ Day   The REDD+ Day in COP20 was an opportunity to discuss the situation of forests and their relation to climate change and raise the population’s awareness of this topic. More specifically, this day provided the opportunity to discuss REDD+ in Latin American countries. Read the full statement by Adriano Santhiago de Oliveira, Director of the Climate Change Department of the Ministry of Environment of Brazil in the “REDD+ Day” Thank you for the opportunity and for inviting Brazil to be part of this important event. We are very happy to see other countries also engaging in implementing the Warsaw Framework for REDD+ by submitting their reference levels for REDD+ payments. After 8 years of intense negotiations develolping countries are finally able to focus on the important task of contributing to mitigating climate change through their forest sector, with the financial and technical support that is so important to help them achieve these results. Brazil has actively engaged in the negotiation of this framework and is now eager to focus on its implementation. Over the past 10 years, reducing deforestation and promoting sustainable local development in the Amazon biome has been a top priority for the Brazilian government. As a result of the national policies and initiatives implemented at the biome level, the last four years have registered the lowest deforestation rates since INPE started systematically monitoring the Amazon biome in 1988. The recognition by the international community of these results is now made possible through the Warsaw Framework for REDD+ under the UNFCCC. Brazil has taken the first step towards the implementation of the Warsaw Framework for REDD+ in June of this year in Bonn, with the submission of the forest reference emission level for reducing deforestation in the Amazon biome. Since then, Brazil's forest reference emission level went through a rigorous assessment by experts appointed by the UNFCCC and we are happy to inform that the technical assessment has been concluded in the end of last month. This has been a facilitative process through which we were able to improve the clarity of our submission and identify a way forward for the future. We now have the assessed forest reference emission level for deforestation in the Amazon biome and will soon submit the Technical Annex with REDD+ results for verification under the UNFCCC and subsequent payments for performance. Brazils summary of information on safeguards is also undergoing public consultation and will soon be translated for submitting to the UNFCCC. We are investing considerable resources to create a safeguards information system with the engagement of our stakeholders at the national level. It is very interesting to see the diversity of approaches chosen by each country submitting reference levels for REDD+ payments today, according to their national circumstances. We are eager to continue engaging with countries implementing REDD+ through south-south cooperation. We are also happy to see that the Green Climate Fund is advancing with the approval of the logic model for financing REDD+ and with the pledges made so far for making this fund operational. We hope that the Green Climate Fund will very soon be able to fulfill its key role in financing REDD+. Congratulations to all countries that have made their submissions, and we hope to see even more countries submitting their REDD+ information and more countries and financial institutions making payments. Congratulations to the Peruvian presidency for hosting this event and for lauching the Lima Information Hub for increasing the transparency of the information submitted by REDD+ countries. It is now finally the time to implement REDD+!