Brazil is delaying a bid to build a multi-billion dollar hydroelectric dam in the Amazon until 2010, an official said on Wednesday, amid criticism of the project's environmental impact.
The 11 gigawatt Belo Monte project, with an estimated cost of at least 16 billion reais ($9.4 billion), is to be developed with state-run generator Eletrobras (ELET5.SA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
"We can say that the auction for Belo Monte is viable for January," Marcio Zimmermann, executive secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Mines, told reporters.
The delays have come largely from trouble in acquiring an environmental license for the project. Brazil seeks to have licenses in place before starting the bid to reduce investors' perception of political risk.
Private industry leaders say the cost will be considerably greater than the official estimates.
Government leaders say the project is necessary to ensure that Brazil can meet growing demand for power, but activists say it would displace indigenous people living in the area and flood large parts of the sensitive Amazon rainforest.
Brazil suffered a major blackout last week that left nearly half of the nation without power, but that incident was attributed to transmissions problems rather than lack of generation capacity.
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1850756020091118
rainforestpower Headline Animator
Friday, November 20, 2009
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Brazilian President Calls for Commitment to Reduction of Carbon Emissions
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Monday that he expects the leaders from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) to commit to a reduction of the greenhouse gases.
In his weekly radio show, the president expressed his worry on the matter of climate change and said that he expects the APEC leaders to advance on the discussions, in order to reach a proposal to be presented to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-15), which will take place in December in Copenhagen.
The APEC leaders met over the weekend in Singapore, but failed to reach an agreement on the carbon emission reduction.
President Lula also noted Brazil's commitment on the matter last week. The country announced its intention to commit to a reduction of 36.1 to 38.9 percent in its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
"Brazil made a decision which I consider extremely important," he said.
According to the government plan, about 20 percent of the reduction will originate from the reduction in the deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest region, while the other 20 percent will result from actions to protect the Brazilian savannah, to promote the use of green steel and biofuels and to increase energy efficiency.
President Lula said that Brazil's commitment indicates that things are going well in the country, and stressed that the government will keep on working hard so that things will improve even more.
http://english.cri.cn/6966/2009/11/17/2021s529808.htm
In his weekly radio show, the president expressed his worry on the matter of climate change and said that he expects the APEC leaders to advance on the discussions, in order to reach a proposal to be presented to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-15), which will take place in December in Copenhagen.
The APEC leaders met over the weekend in Singapore, but failed to reach an agreement on the carbon emission reduction.
President Lula also noted Brazil's commitment on the matter last week. The country announced its intention to commit to a reduction of 36.1 to 38.9 percent in its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
"Brazil made a decision which I consider extremely important," he said.
According to the government plan, about 20 percent of the reduction will originate from the reduction in the deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest region, while the other 20 percent will result from actions to protect the Brazilian savannah, to promote the use of green steel and biofuels and to increase energy efficiency.
President Lula said that Brazil's commitment indicates that things are going well in the country, and stressed that the government will keep on working hard so that things will improve even more.
http://english.cri.cn/6966/2009/11/17/2021s529808.htm
Friday, November 13, 2009
Wal-Mart is betting on acai
Acai berries, found in the Amazon, are believed to have healthy qualities and may also help the big box retailer in a down economy. Acai Berry Juice sold some $40 million within its first 90 days on the market and is expected to hit roughly $110 million in sales next year, Lindsay Duncan, Genesis Today founder, president & CEO, told CNBC.
The Brazilian berry juice, developed by Wal-Mart and Genesis Today, contains the protein content of an egg, the fat content of olive oil and the highest level of antioxidants known to any food, claimed Duncan.
“It’s very clear to me and it’s very clear to Wal-Mart that America is very vertically ill,” he said. “And we’re interested in doing something about that with products that do no harm.”
Studies at the University of Florida also indicate that acai killed 86 percent of Leukemia cells in a laboratory, Duncan said.
Wal-Mart reached out to Duncan to develop a healthy food product, he said.
“They [Wal-Mart] just wanted to learn about my 27 years of helping people heal their body with nutrition,” he said. “It’s kind of what like Whole Foods has done. They believe that food’s your medicine. And that’s what we do, and they wanted to pick my brain and find out what foods do I believe are the most healthy foods in the world.”
Genesis Today is not considering going public, said Duncan: “There's no reason to go public.”
http://www.cnbc.com/id/33910374
The Brazilian berry juice, developed by Wal-Mart and Genesis Today, contains the protein content of an egg, the fat content of olive oil and the highest level of antioxidants known to any food, claimed Duncan.
“It’s very clear to me and it’s very clear to Wal-Mart that America is very vertically ill,” he said. “And we’re interested in doing something about that with products that do no harm.”
Studies at the University of Florida also indicate that acai killed 86 percent of Leukemia cells in a laboratory, Duncan said.
Wal-Mart reached out to Duncan to develop a healthy food product, he said.
“They [Wal-Mart] just wanted to learn about my 27 years of helping people heal their body with nutrition,” he said. “It’s kind of what like Whole Foods has done. They believe that food’s your medicine. And that’s what we do, and they wanted to pick my brain and find out what foods do I believe are the most healthy foods in the world.”
Genesis Today is not considering going public, said Duncan: “There's no reason to go public.”
http://www.cnbc.com/id/33910374
Rainforest money doesn't grow on trees
The fall in deforestation in Brazil is welcome, but our leaders must make a financial commitment to replicating this success
My colleagues in the Amazon office of Greenpeace like to characterise deforestation as a lion, oscillating between periods of slumber and bouts of frenetic and violent activity. New figures released by Brazil's government yesterday suggest that over the past year the lion has slept a little more soundly than usual. This is very good news, but we must not take our eyes off him.
The reported fall in the rate of Amazon deforestation should be kept in perspective. Over the past year "just" 7,000 square kilometres of rainforest was destroyed – which means that an area just a little smaller than Puerto Rico was razed to the ground. Of course the Amazon is also only one of the world's ancient rainforests. The lions of deforestation are on the prowl in the paradise forests of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. In the Congo basin, they are stretching their limbs for the very first time, eyeing up a tasty meal in the world's second largest rainforest.
The key questions we must answer are these: how do we maintain this progress in Brazil, and how can we replicate this success elsewhere in the world?
The fall in deforestation in Brazil can be attributed to a variety of factors, including the global economic recession. Civil society has played its part, by voicing public opposition to changes to the Brazilian forest code, which could have become a charter for industrial logging interests. A pioneering agreement banning deforestation for the production of soya beans also helped remove one of the key drivers of deforestation in the region.
Then, earlier this year, a Greenpeace campaign exposed the cattle industry as the biggest single cause of deforestation in the Amazon. Under pressure from high street brands like Nike, Adidas and Clarks, which were using Brazilian leather, as well as makers of tinned beef products like Princes, the four largest players in the global cattle sector have now committed to "zero deforestation in their supply chains".
These steps, although hugely significant, will not stand the test of time without an international agreement to remove the drivers of deforestation. The situation is urgent, and with a long-term deal on forests at Copenhagen hanging in the balance, a short-term fix must be found.
Earlier this year the Prince of Wales launched a project calling for an interim finance package to slow rates of deforestation in rainforest countries in the next few years. More than 40 countries signed on to the initiative, which has led to the establishment of an international working group which recently suggested that €15-25bn would be needed between 2010 and 2015 to fight deforestation. The UK's share of this would be a few hundred million pounds over a five-year timescale.
The proposals have received broad international support, but no official backing from the UK government in terms of money on the table to help stop deforestation. It's time for our leaders to commit a relatively small amount of financial support to protect an ecosystem that all of us rely on for our survival.
Amazon Deforestation
My colleagues in the Amazon office of Greenpeace like to characterise deforestation as a lion, oscillating between periods of slumber and bouts of frenetic and violent activity. New figures released by Brazil's government yesterday suggest that over the past year the lion has slept a little more soundly than usual. This is very good news, but we must not take our eyes off him.
The reported fall in the rate of Amazon deforestation should be kept in perspective. Over the past year "just" 7,000 square kilometres of rainforest was destroyed – which means that an area just a little smaller than Puerto Rico was razed to the ground. Of course the Amazon is also only one of the world's ancient rainforests. The lions of deforestation are on the prowl in the paradise forests of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. In the Congo basin, they are stretching their limbs for the very first time, eyeing up a tasty meal in the world's second largest rainforest.
The key questions we must answer are these: how do we maintain this progress in Brazil, and how can we replicate this success elsewhere in the world?
The fall in deforestation in Brazil can be attributed to a variety of factors, including the global economic recession. Civil society has played its part, by voicing public opposition to changes to the Brazilian forest code, which could have become a charter for industrial logging interests. A pioneering agreement banning deforestation for the production of soya beans also helped remove one of the key drivers of deforestation in the region.
Then, earlier this year, a Greenpeace campaign exposed the cattle industry as the biggest single cause of deforestation in the Amazon. Under pressure from high street brands like Nike, Adidas and Clarks, which were using Brazilian leather, as well as makers of tinned beef products like Princes, the four largest players in the global cattle sector have now committed to "zero deforestation in their supply chains".
These steps, although hugely significant, will not stand the test of time without an international agreement to remove the drivers of deforestation. The situation is urgent, and with a long-term deal on forests at Copenhagen hanging in the balance, a short-term fix must be found.
Earlier this year the Prince of Wales launched a project calling for an interim finance package to slow rates of deforestation in rainforest countries in the next few years. More than 40 countries signed on to the initiative, which has led to the establishment of an international working group which recently suggested that €15-25bn would be needed between 2010 and 2015 to fight deforestation. The UK's share of this would be a few hundred million pounds over a five-year timescale.
The proposals have received broad international support, but no official backing from the UK government in terms of money on the table to help stop deforestation. It's time for our leaders to commit a relatively small amount of financial support to protect an ecosystem that all of us rely on for our survival.
Amazon Deforestation
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Trucks, Trains and Trees
No matter how many times you hear them, there are some statistics that just bowl you over. The one that always stuns me is this: Imagine if you took all the cars, trucks, planes, trains and ships in the world and added up their exhaust every year. The amount of carbon dioxide, or CO2, all those cars, trucks, planes, trains and ships collectively emit into the atmosphere is actually less than the carbon emissions every year that result from the chopping down and clearing of tropical forests in places like Brazil, Indonesia and the Congo. We are now losing a tropical forest the size of New York State every year, and the carbon that releases into the atmosphere now accounts for roughly 17 percent of all global emissions contributing to climate change.
It is going to be a long time before we transform the world’s transportation fleet so it is emission-free. But right now — like tomorrow — we could eliminate 17 percent of all global emissions if we could halt the cutting and burning of tropical forests. But to do that requires putting in place a whole new system of economic development — one that makes it more profitable for the poorer, forest-rich nations to preserve and manage their trees rather than to chop them down to make furniture or plant soybeans.
Without a new system for economic development in the timber-rich tropics, you can kiss the rainforests goodbye. The old model of economic growth will devour them. The only Amazon your grandchildren will ever relate to is the one that ends in dot-com and sells books.
To better understand this issue, I’m visiting the Tapajós National Forest in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon on a trip organized by Conservation International and the Brazilian government. Flying in here by prop plane from Manaus, you can understand why the Amazon rainforest is considered one of the lungs of the world. Even from 20,000 feet, all you see in every direction is an unbroken expanse of rainforest treetops that, from the air, looks like a vast and endless carpet of broccoli.
Once on the ground, we drove from Santarém into Tapajós, where we met with the community cooperative that manages the eco-friendly businesses here that support the 8,000 local people living in this protected forest. What you learn when you visit with a tiny Brazilian community that actually lives in, and off, the forest is a simple but crucial truth: To save an ecosystem of nature, you need an ecosystem of markets and governance.
“You need a new model of economic development — one that is based on raising people’s standards of living by maintaining their natural capital, not just by converting that natural capital to ranching or industrial farming or logging,” said José María Silva, vice president for South America of Conservation International.
Right now people protecting the rainforest are paid a pittance — compared with those who strip it — even though we now know that the rainforest provides everything from keeping CO2 out of the atmosphere to maintaining the flow of freshwater into rivers.
The good news is that Brazil has put in place all the elements of a system to compensate its forest-dwellers for maintaining the forests. Brazil has already set aside 43 percent of the Amazon rainforest for conservation and for indigenous peoples. Another 19 percent of the Amazon, though, has already been deforested by farmers and ranchers.
So the big question is what will happen to the other 38 percent. The more we get the Brazilian system to work, the more of that 38 percent will be preserved and the less carbon reductions the whole world would have to make. But it takes money.
The residents of the Tapajós reserve are already organized into cooperatives that sell eco-tourism on rainforest trails, furniture and other wood products made from sustainable selective logging and a very attractive line of purses made from “ecological leather,” a k a, rainforest rubber. They also get government subsidies.
Sergio Pimentel, 48, explained to me that he used to farm about five acres of land for subsistence, but now is using only about one acre to support his family of six. The rest of the income comes through the co-op’s forest businesses. “We were born inside the forest,” he added. “So we know the importance of it being preserved, but we need better access to global markets for the products we make here. Can you help us with that?”
There are community co-ops like this all over the protected areas of the Amazon rainforest. But this system needs money — money to expand into more markets, money to maintain police monitoring and enforcement and money to improve the productivity of farming on already degraded lands so people won’t eat up more rainforest. That is why we need to make sure that whatever energy-climate bill comes out of the U.S. Congress, and whatever framework comes out of the Copenhagen conference next month, they include provisions for financing rainforest conservation systems like those in Brazil. The last 38 percent of the Amazon is still up for grabs. It is there for us to save. Your grandchildren will thank you.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/opinion/11friedman.html?ref=opinion
It is going to be a long time before we transform the world’s transportation fleet so it is emission-free. But right now — like tomorrow — we could eliminate 17 percent of all global emissions if we could halt the cutting and burning of tropical forests. But to do that requires putting in place a whole new system of economic development — one that makes it more profitable for the poorer, forest-rich nations to preserve and manage their trees rather than to chop them down to make furniture or plant soybeans.
Without a new system for economic development in the timber-rich tropics, you can kiss the rainforests goodbye. The old model of economic growth will devour them. The only Amazon your grandchildren will ever relate to is the one that ends in dot-com and sells books.
To better understand this issue, I’m visiting the Tapajós National Forest in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon on a trip organized by Conservation International and the Brazilian government. Flying in here by prop plane from Manaus, you can understand why the Amazon rainforest is considered one of the lungs of the world. Even from 20,000 feet, all you see in every direction is an unbroken expanse of rainforest treetops that, from the air, looks like a vast and endless carpet of broccoli.
Once on the ground, we drove from Santarém into Tapajós, where we met with the community cooperative that manages the eco-friendly businesses here that support the 8,000 local people living in this protected forest. What you learn when you visit with a tiny Brazilian community that actually lives in, and off, the forest is a simple but crucial truth: To save an ecosystem of nature, you need an ecosystem of markets and governance.
“You need a new model of economic development — one that is based on raising people’s standards of living by maintaining their natural capital, not just by converting that natural capital to ranching or industrial farming or logging,” said José María Silva, vice president for South America of Conservation International.
Right now people protecting the rainforest are paid a pittance — compared with those who strip it — even though we now know that the rainforest provides everything from keeping CO2 out of the atmosphere to maintaining the flow of freshwater into rivers.
The good news is that Brazil has put in place all the elements of a system to compensate its forest-dwellers for maintaining the forests. Brazil has already set aside 43 percent of the Amazon rainforest for conservation and for indigenous peoples. Another 19 percent of the Amazon, though, has already been deforested by farmers and ranchers.
So the big question is what will happen to the other 38 percent. The more we get the Brazilian system to work, the more of that 38 percent will be preserved and the less carbon reductions the whole world would have to make. But it takes money.
The residents of the Tapajós reserve are already organized into cooperatives that sell eco-tourism on rainforest trails, furniture and other wood products made from sustainable selective logging and a very attractive line of purses made from “ecological leather,” a k a, rainforest rubber. They also get government subsidies.
Sergio Pimentel, 48, explained to me that he used to farm about five acres of land for subsistence, but now is using only about one acre to support his family of six. The rest of the income comes through the co-op’s forest businesses. “We were born inside the forest,” he added. “So we know the importance of it being preserved, but we need better access to global markets for the products we make here. Can you help us with that?”
There are community co-ops like this all over the protected areas of the Amazon rainforest. But this system needs money — money to expand into more markets, money to maintain police monitoring and enforcement and money to improve the productivity of farming on already degraded lands so people won’t eat up more rainforest. That is why we need to make sure that whatever energy-climate bill comes out of the U.S. Congress, and whatever framework comes out of the Copenhagen conference next month, they include provisions for financing rainforest conservation systems like those in Brazil. The last 38 percent of the Amazon is still up for grabs. It is there for us to save. Your grandchildren will thank you.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/11/opinion/11friedman.html?ref=opinion
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
