Brazil and Climate Justice
By: Shu-Li Thakore
Just recently, a Brazilian presidential election took place, potentially determining the future of the Amazon Rainforest and raising questions around climate justice. It is important to understand the definition of climate justice to understand the significance of the Brazilian election. According to Yale Climate Connections, “‘Climate justice’ is a term, and more than that a movement, that acknowledges climate change can have differing social, economic, public health, and other adverse impacts on underprivileged populations.” So what does this have to do with Brazil’s recent election? Current president Jair Bolsonaro ran against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, former president, and Lula won by 1.8%. Bolsonaro and Lula have major differing opinions regarding the future of the Amazon Rainforest. Lula believes that the deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest needs to be stopped immediately because of the detrimental effects from the removal of an ecosystem that absorbs about 5% of the earth's total carbon emissions, around 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide. On the other hand, Bolsonaro believes that Brazil deserves to use their natural resources to expand their economy, just as other countries have done so. From Bolsonaro’s point of view, it can be seen as hypocritical for major leaders to be unsupportive of the deforestation of the Amazon. This is because countries such as the US and China were able to use their natural resources to make themselves economic powerhouses. Bolsonaro feels that it is unjust that Brazil is attacked for doing the same as other countries. Here is where the grey areas of climate justice arise.
Since 1850, around 1500 gigatons of carbon dioxide has been released into the atmosphere. Of this, 92% of the carbon dioxide, pushing the earth beyond a safe threshold back in 1990, was emitted by the Global North. Poorer countries, mainly in the Global South, have done the least to contribute to carbon emissions, yet they are the ones who are the most affected by the drastic environmental changes. Although Brazil has been a major contributor to greenhouse gasses in recent years, it is difficult to point fingers at countries to blame, due to the history of how long a certain country has been producing greenhouse gasses. For example, China has been emitting for much longer than Brazil, but the US has been emitting for much longer than China. As well, there are unequal emissions, so some countries are emitting more or less than others. Therefore, putting the blame on countries becomes a bit blurry, and climate injustice continues.
It is seen that it’s not as simple as stopping deforestation and going green that will end climate injustice, rather it is a lengthy process that environmentalists and climate activists continue to fight for, in remembrance that this planet is peoples’ only home.
Sources:
https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/what-is-climate-change
https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/07/what-is-climate-justice/
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/15/world/americas/brazil-lula-presidency.html
https://time.com/6221323/brazil-elections-amazon-rainforest-sonia-guajajara/