The 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 30), which will take place in 2025, is awaited by the Amazon productive sector and is seen as an opportunity to broaden discussions on cultivation techniques that are being developed to promote advances in the biome. The event will be held in Belém, capital of Pará, one of the main States in the region. It is considered the largest meeting on climate change in the world, bringing together hundreds of heads of state and activists in favor of the cause.
In addition to this expected expansion of debates, representatives of local agribusiness are hoping for recognition of their efforts in preserving the forest and the valorization of products that are produced in the Amazon. The objective of this sector is to show that the best way to avoid deforestation is through the fight against illegalities. Following this line of thought, the existing environmental rules, that are followed by those who work according to the law, already guarantee that the region will not suffer so many impacts.
Limitations
The opportunities that the event will bring will also serve, from the point of view of Amazon producers, to end limitations imposed by the foreign market. In 2023, a new law approved by the European Parliament started requiring that products imported by the trade bloc have a series of proof that there has been no deforestation during their production. Cattle, cocoa, and lumber are some of the assets that make up the economy of the biome.
Products made from these raw materials also were included to the list. According to Fernão Zancaner, head of Ulianópolis Rural Workers' Union - Ulianópolis is a city located in Southern Pará -, the COP 30 will show that keeping out local products is an initiative that gives a false impression of protecting the biome. “Valuing the agricultural production in the Amazon is something we must do because it is very sustainable. We have an obligation to preserve forests and combat deforestation,” he says.
“I think that the COP 30 happening in the Amazon will be important especially because of the lack of knowledge in the discourse that is made about production movements within the biome. Those who speak do not know the Amazon, do not know how production is done in the Amazon, and do not know the economic and social reality of the region. The fact that the COP will be held here makes it easier for us to show our challenges and potential. The state of Pará has a gigantic forest reserve and much of this is maintained by agricultural activity,” says Fernão Zancaner.
Discussions need to arise in the light of technical foundations
All debates on Amazon production that will be brought to the conference should be based on technical reasoning, says the head of Ulianópolis Rural Workers' Union. “We must demonstrate, in a technical way, that our production is sustainable; and also demonstrate that the population of the Amazon needs economic development. It is not possible to preserve the environment without providing the minimum conditions for the development of the population” highlights Fernão Zancaner.
“It is imperative to show that we need development, growth, generation of jobs and income. We need to preserve the Amazon and we need people to come here. Perhaps it is an opportunity for them to look at what we are doing, to see all the potential that the region has for development so that they can value our products and not create restrictions on them”.
Preparation
In this sense, some entities linked to the productive sectors of the Amazon were convened for a conference that precedes COP 30. It is the case of the Industry Federation of the State of Pará (Fiepa) and other trade associations. The meeting still does not have a date confirmation. It was proposed by the Secretary of International Relations of São Paulo, Aldo Rebelo, during a ruralist meeting promoted by the Agriculture and Livestock Federation of the State of Pará (Faepa).
"The conference is made by Brazilians and aims to propose a development agenda in addition to the climate agenda. We consider an attack on the dignity of the people from Pará and the Brazilian population if this parallel agenda does not arise. How are you going to accept to deal only with the climate agenda and not aim at the rights of the population of the Amazon and the Brazilians who have lived and worked there for centuries?", questioned Aldo Rebelo during a lecture to dozens of rural producers.
Potentials of Pará need to be disclosed
The president of the Agriculture and Livestock Federation of the state of Pará (Faepa), Carlos Xavier, believes that COP 30 and all the glare at the region that will take place at the event will be fundamental for disclosing the potential of Pará. In doing so, he expects a transformation in society. "Pará has the potential to be a leading state in Brazil [in economic terms]. The transformation of society passes through production. We have to forget those social welfare programs, such as Bolsa Família and Seguro Defeso. We have to produce," said Carlos Xavier.
“We are joining the people from Pará in the sense of power to those who will come to COP 30 next year, to show what Pará is, what the Amazon is, that we have here the toughest legislation in the world... Since June 2008, we could only use 20% of the property that I paid 100%. We have a law that determines that people from Pará can only use up to 35% of our territory for economic activity. But people from other countries are not aware of this condition we usually face. Therefore, we are preparing to say that we are producing and respecting the environment”, adds Carlos Xavier.
Remuneration
The remuneration for those who follow the law and keep the forest standing is one of the issues that should be taken by Faepa to the meeting proposed by Aldo Rebelo. "We truly would like to make this transformation in our society, so that we no longer have the lowest rates of Human Development. We do not want to deforest, but we want to be recompensed for keeping our forest standing. We will meet and discuss the objective of attracting resources and arouse our development”, he concludes.
Industry hopes to discuss new economic model
The discussion of a new economic model that includes social and environmental components with a balance is something expected by the industrial sector. Alex Carvalho, head of the Industry Federation of the State of Pará (Fiepa), says that there is an incentive for initiatives that are focused on or that wish to adapt to this agenda, having the role of a business attraction. "We also do not measure efforts to strengthen traditional activities that have already been seeking adherence to ESG (environmental, social, and governance criteria).”
The purpose of these debates is to show not only the difficulties, but the opportunities that exist in the territory and to promote the understanding of the Amazon through biodiversity. “These are not excluding models, they are inclusive. Through inclusion, we will optimize our vocations, expand them to the maximum, and construct a new era, with a new direction, with more sustainability, with more job and income generation and environmental preservation”, highlights Alex Carvalho.
Jornada COP+
One of the initiatives to prepare the industry to regulate all the demands for the conference is the organization of the event Jornada COP+. The Fiepa's initiative, in partnership with the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), aggregates the exchange of ideas and experiences, and the attraction of new thoughts and investors. All of this interacts with local and traditional knowledge. “We have insisted on the importance of an adequate and realistic logistics infrastructure that could provide better fluidity,” says Alex Carvalho.
Not only the displacement of products from the state of Pará but also the increase of social gain is among the issues targeted within the debates of the event. “People here still have extreme difficulties traveling long distances and this is not perceived in more developed centers. From social and industrial competitiveness gaining aspects, we insist on the importance of having a logistics infrastructure in our State”, says the head of Fiepa.
"We were invited to attend a meeting of the CNI's Thematic Council on Environment and Sustainability and talk about the path that will lead us to COP 30. This path goes through Azerbaijan this year [at COP 29]. In 2024, we intend to have greater participation, inspired by cases from local industries that have served as good practices and inducers of others”, concludes Alex Carvalho.
