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COP26: First Impressions

The beginning of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP-26, in Glasgow, Scotland, has already resulted in important initiatives for the world and Brazilian economy that deserve attention from those who work with innovation, technology and intellectual property.

On Tuesday (November 2), the Brazilian government adhered to two international agreements: (1) to reduce methane gas emissions by 30% by 2030 (relative to 2020 parameters) and (2) to zero deforestation by 2030.

Adhering to the agreement on methane represents a huge challenge for Brazil, given that the country emitted 20.2 million tons of methane in 2020 and meeting the target has a direct impact on the national cattle herd: 72% of methane emissions in the country comes from agriculture, 16% from waste and 9% from land use change.

Brazil emits 14.5 million tons of methane gas in agriculture, 97% of which is a consequence of enteric fermentation (belching and flatulence of the herd). To reduce emissions and reach the agreed target, it will be necessary to adopt basically two strategies: reduce slaughter time and reduce the herd and invest in the improvement of the sector. This challenge involves investment in innovation and, consequently, in the Intellectual Property sector, which leads to legal strategies to protect intellectual property.

Another relevant point is the meeting of a group of Brazilian investors to demand pragmatic measures from the government to counter the climate crisis, such as the regulation of the Paris agreement.

In the document, the group called “Investors for the Climate”, which brings together 18 Brazilian companies, calls for the strengthening of public policies to mitigate the effects of climate change, from the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, environmental inspection, reduction of the deforestation rate, encourage sustainable and low-carbon private investment, among other measures. The signatories of the document have around R$873 billion under their management.

The initiative demonstrates the relevance of the ESG agenda in the business world and poses a challenge to the financial sector as it can jeopardize its stability and the way in which business is currently conducted.

Within the scope of the COP-26 debates, the Di Blasi, Parente & Associados firm, in partnership with the CLP (Portuguese acronym of the Public Leadership Center), will debate zero damage to the Amazon at the ICC Make Climate Action Everyone’s Business forum during the Conference of the United Nations. On November 10, from 7:00 am to 9:00 am, Brasília time, Dr. Gabriel Di Blasi, managing partner of Di Blasi Parente & Associados – one of the few Brazilian representatives participating in the global event – and a specialist in innovation and sustainability, will lead the panel “Zero Damage to the Amazon”, whose objective will be to debate the regulatory bills on the economic development of the region, and the programs carried out by the Brazilian Executive Branch.

The panel will feature the participation of political scientist Luiz Felipe d’Avila to talk about the relevance of the Amazon region from a political standpoint in the national and international context; the Head of Sustainability at B3 – Brazil Stock Exchange and OTC Market, Cesar Sanches, to talk about the role of private banks in sustainable financing; Natura’s Director of Sustainability, Denise Hills, and Unilever’s Director of Government Relations and Sustainability, Suelma [FBO1] Rosa, to present the companies’ perspectives on the region and their local environmental footprints.

To subscribe and learn a more about the panels, click here:

https://hopin.com/events/icc-make-climate-action-everyone-s-business-conference/registration . The event is online and free of charge.

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