By Equipe de Redação
Posted in September 14, 2023
The survival of the Amazon has become one of the commitments to accelerate the 2030 Agenda, the pact made among 193 Member States of the United Nations (UN) for Sustainable Development. The Impact Amazon Movement was announced this Thursday (14) during this year’s edition of the 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 survey, 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 in relation to involvement with deforestation in the Amazon.
The survey also shows that 64.63% of companies do not include clauses in contracts with suppliers containing commitments to prevent deforestation in the Amazon.
According to the UN, the focus on preservation and combating deforestation is one of the ways 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, the actions are urgent before the forest reaches a point where the existence of the forest and global ecological balance become impossible.
“The forest is going through a process similar to savannization, where we lose this rich forest as we have it, and this is a catastrophe not only for Brazil but for the world,” he said. “The Amazon is very responsible for the climatic balance, which is why, now with data and facts, all international attention is focused on the Amazon,” he added.
Eletrobrás and Ambipar are ambassadors of the Impact Amazon Movement, a project focused on the preservation of the Amazon. Banco do Brasil also plans, by the end of the first half of 2024, to invest 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 for a low-carbon economy, in line with the goals set for the 2030 Agenda and the principles of the global pact. This pact addresses topics such as Human Rights, Labor, Environment, and anti-corruption efforts.
Civil society organizations have also joined the goals of the pact. The Federal Public Ministry will form working groups to help develop solutions for the critical problems of the Amazon.
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, Chair of the Global Advisory Council of the UN in Brazil, says that more than promoting a change, there needs to 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. This is a misconception. It applies to the individual. The UN Global Compact is for everyone. That’s the big message. The UN has the great responsibility of spreading 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 and the individual in the mansions.”
The 2030 Agenda was born in 2000, stemming from another pact: the Millennium Agenda. At that time, all 193 UN member countries signed the UN Global Compact, focused on responsible corporate practices. Currently, the UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, with engagement in 162 countries.
Eight years after the UN member countries adopted the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, the assessment is that progress on the pact is not going well. The CEO of the UN Global Compact in Brazil says there have been setbacks in global goals caused by “financial crises, large-scale wars, pandemics, and various other factors that have caused regression in most areas.”
To mitigate the effects of this setback, according to Carlo, the UN Secretary-General has been gathering all the world’s governments, as well as civil society and major corporations, to get the Agenda back on track and accelerate progress.
*Reporter traveled at the invitation of Banco do Brasil
Source: EBC GERAL
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