Brazil pledges bigger emissions cut than Australia

Both targets will be measured against a 2005 baseline.

Under the plan, renewables will make up 45 per cent of the country’s total energy mix by 2030, up from 40 per cent today.

The country, which has been at the centre of global efforts to halt widespread illegal deforestation, also promised to halt illegal deforestation and reforest 12 million hectares of land by 2030.

“Brazil is one of the few developing countries to commit to an absolute goal for emissions reduction”.

President Dilma Rousseff on Saturday said she was extremely concerned about companies that have debt in dollars and that the country has “sufficient reserves to avoid any problems in relation to disruptions because of the real”.

Political uncertainty has aggravated what is expected to be Brazil’s longest recession since the 1930s, and was cited by Standard & Poor’s as part of their decision to downgrade Latin America’s largest economy to junk status.

Brazil also pledged to offset emissions coming from regulated deforestation, but has not provided details. “I am optimistic this plan will send the signal we need that the role of our region is to raise ambition on the road to Paris”, said Monica Araya, director of Costa Rica’s Nivela group.

By 2020 LULUCF pollution will be overtaken by energy emissions and if Brazil does not change course, it risks a high-carbon “lock-in” with 80 per cent or $500 billion of all energy investments in Brazil for 2013-2022 being allocated to fossil fuels.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the two countries initiatives on climate change were an “outstanding example” of global collaboration. In the past week, formal submissions have been received from 18 nations including South Africa, Bangladesh, Mongolia and the Central African Republic. The United States has pledged to reduce emissions by 26 to 28 percent between 2005 and 2025.

“The slow recovery of the world economy and the end of the commodities super cycle have had a negative impact on our growth”, the president said, vowing to “reorganize the fiscal framework while reducing inflation, consolidating macroeconomic stability and increasing confidence”.