The final decision regarding the proposal for reducing national greenhouse gas emissions, which Brazil will take to the UN Climate Change Conference in December in Copenhagen was postponed to Nov. 14, official sources said Tuesday.
Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula had a discussion for over three hours on Tuesday
morning with a group of ministers, with an attempt to bridge differences on the proposal, but
ended up with no agreement.
The most controversial point is the target for reducing the country's greenhouse gas
emissions up to 2020.
The Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Brazilian
Forum on Climate Change have submitted three separate proposals on reduction commitment, but a meeting in mid-October ended without any agreement on that.
The Ministry of Environment supports 40 percent reduction in emissions up to 2020,
while the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of External Relations ave
reservations about more daring commitments.
In addition, some Environmental organizations, civil societies and businessmen have been pressing the Brazilian government for a more ambitious proposal to Copenhagen.
Among Brazilian authorities there is a consensus on an 80 percent reduction in the
Amazon deforestation rate by 2020, which can lead to a reduction of 20 percent or 580 million tons of carbon dioxide.
Apart from that, the possibility of reaching another 20 percent with an economic growth from 4 to 6 percent a year is being considered, setting commitments in different sectors of Brazilian economy.
However, Brazilian External Relations Minister Celso Amorim said the proposals
represent a greater contribution than that of developed countries.
The Copenhagen summit is aimed at reaching a consensus on a new global agreement to complement the Kyoto Protocol after 2012. The Kyoto Protocol has set binding targets for industrialized nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions before 2012.