German government proves continued forbearance with Brazil on environmental issues

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Germany is showing once again that it is still willing to help Brazil care for the environment, after repeated warnings to the Bolsonaro government about blocking funds intended to fight deforestation.

In the complete study on obstacles and solutions conducted by partner organization WRI Brasil, to be released this Wednesday, September 1, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) shows that Germany’s forbearance also extends to the mitigation of environmental issues in urban areas.

Moreover, the study is part of a joint initiative with the European Investment Bank, which can be a “bridge between cities that wish to structure low-carbon projects.” That is, it already has a “financial intermediary,” in the words of GIZ’s director in Brazil Gustavo Ribeiro.

But to do so, the obstacles observed, seven in total, and under the traditional umbrella of Brazilian problems – “of a bureaucratic and public policy nature” – would need to be surmounted. From the low level of coordinated governance among the state entities to fiscal challenges, including insufficient urban planning in consistent local projects.

This is nothing unknown in Brazil, as explained WRI Brasil’s Urban Economy coordinator Luana Betti, when she aligned “the historical needs of Brazil with the need for climate mitigation and adaptation.”

The study, which had the institutional support of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, details several suggestions within the axes low-emission transport and mobility, sustainable housing and buildings, and urban solid waste collection, among others.

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