By Equipe de Redação
Posted in September 18, 2023
The survival of the Amazon has become one of the commitments to accelerate the 2030 Agenda, the pact made among the 193 Member States of the United Nations (UN) for Sustainable Development. The Impact Amazon Movement was announced this Thursday (14) during this year’s UN Global Compact in Brazil, at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
The initiative highlights the need for investments and policies aimed at preserving the forest, valuing and protecting the traditional peoples and territories of the region, and aligning technology with sustainability.
This is the first movement of the UN Global Compact in Brazil specifically focused on the Amazon region—with a focus on public and private sector companies’ public commitments to leverage sustainable development in the Amazon.
The Pulse Scenario and Companies in the Amazon research, conducted in September with 160 companies participating in the UN Global Compact in Brazil, showed that 58.54% of companies reported having already conducted an analysis of operational risks in the face of the climate crisis. However, 79.72% did not analyze the impacts of the supply chain regarding involvement with deforestation in the Amazon.
The research also shows that 64.63% of companies do not include clauses in contracts with suppliers containing commitments to non-deforestation of the Amazon.
According to the UN, focusing on preservation and combating deforestation is one way to directly achieve other commitments of the 2030 Agenda, such as climate actions, responsible consumption and production, and sustainable agriculture, for example.
Carlo Pereira, CEO of the UN Global Compact in Brazil, emphasized the importance of urgent measures for the preservation and sustainability of the Amazon. For him, actions are urgent before the forest reaches a point where the existence of the forest and global ecological balance is no longer possible.
“The forest is going through a process similar to savannization, where we lose this rich forest as we have, and this is a catastrophe not only for Brazil but for the world,” he said. “The Amazon is very responsible for climate balance, so now with data and facts, all international attention is focused on the Amazon,” he added.
Participation of companies Eletrobrás and Ambipar as ambassadors of the Impact Amazon Movement, the project focused on the preservation of the Amazon. Banco do Brasil also plans, by the end of the first half of 2024, investments of R$ 23 billion in financing actions related to climate issues, such as renewable energy and energy efficiency, as well as environmental recovery.
The Bank has been working towards a low-carbon economy, in line with the goals set for the 2030 Agenda and the principles of the global pact. This pact addresses issues such as Human Rights, Labor, Environment, and the fight against corruption.
Civil society organizations have also joined the goals of the pact. The Federal Public Ministry will form working groups to help develop solutions to the critical problems of the Amazon.
Society’s participation Rethinking corporate policies and society’s behavior as a whole is urgent and has been one of the main concerns of the UN Global Compact. Rachel Maia, President of the Global Board of the UN in Brazil, says that more than promoting a change, there must be a transformation not only among large companies but among every individual.
“The sustainability of the company does not apply to the size of the company. That’s a mistake. It applies to the individual. The UN Global Compact is for everyone. That’s the big message. The UN has the great responsibility to spread the message that no one leaves anyone behind. That was the big agreement of the 2030 agenda. With this thinking, I will look at the individual in the favelas as well as the individual in the mansions”.
Setback in results The 2030 Agenda was born in 2000, stemming from another pact: the Millennium Agenda. At the time, all 193 UN member countries signed the UN Global Compact, aimed at responsible corporate practices. Currently, the UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, with coverage and engagement in 162 countries.
Eight years after UN member countries adopted the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, the assessment is that the progress of the pact is not going well. The CEO of the UN Global Compact in Brazil states that there have been setbacks in global goals caused by “financial crises, large-scale wars, pandemics, and various other points that have caused us to regress in most of the topics.”
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