The country plays a critical role in the global fight against climate change, as the Amazon rainforest is one of the world’s largest land “carbon sinks,” removing more greenhouse gasses (GHG) from the atmosphere than it emits. This carbon sink is threatened by deforestation and land-use change. Brazil is the world’s 6th largest GHG emitter, and the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events in the Legal Amazon have significant and widespread effects for Brazil’s economy, ecosystems and populations that rely on them. Temperature-sensitive species may alter movement patterns. Increased drought severity can greatly affect freshwater ecosystems and increase the threat of rainforest fires. Change in rainfall and temperature could impact the spread of disease, sea level rise and storm surge that could have a substantial impact on lowland areas of the Amazon.

Government of Brazil Climate Priorities

Brazil's latest Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement was approved by the Inter Ministerial Committee on Climate Change and announced at the Climate Ambition Summit in 2023. The update resumes the country’s ambition to the level of its first NDC from 2015: reduction of 48 percent in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 and 53 percent by 2030. President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva took office in January 2023 and committed to making combating climate change a priority. In his first day in office, he signed various environmental decrees, chief among them the reestablishment of the Amazon Fund, which raises donations for non-reimbursable investments in efforts to prevent, monitor, and combat deforestation, as well as to promote the preservation and sustainable use in the Brazilian Amazon.

USAID’s Climate Change Program: Objectives and Results

USAID supports the Government of Brazil’s development and climate priorities through a series of initiatives and partnerships across the biodiversity conservation sector. USAID focuses on initiatives with the potential to leverage resources from the private sector for biodiversity conservation and improvement of local livelihoods in the Brazilian Legal Amazon. USAID advocates for conservation and sustainable management of protected areas (State and Federal conservation units, Indigenous lands, and other traditional territories), while also supporting innovative financial instruments for nature-based solutions, including payments for ecosystem services and high integrity carbon credits.

Biodiversity Conservation

USAID champions Brazil’s conservation efforts through a productive collaboration with the Government of Brazil, civil society, and private sector partners across a large geographic area representing 189 protected areas, of which 32 percent are Indigenous Lands. USAID’s biodiversity conservation programming in Brazil contributes to climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Results in 2022

• More than 23 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent GHG emissions avoided.
• Strengthened management of 117 Protected Areas (PAs) covering 47.9 million hectares.
• Reduced deforestation rates in USAID supported PAs—comprising Conservation Units and Indigenous Lands (deforestation area of 6,004 hectares)—as compared to 135,983 hectares in non-USAID PAs.
• Leveraged $16.9 million for biodiversity-friendly enterprises and social economic development, including $900,000 raised through a crowd-lending platform.
• Sponsored 164 Amazonian enterprises implementing environmentally-friendly activities.
• Over 3,600 Indigenous peoples received technical assistance to strengthen natural resource management and increase resilience to climate change.
• Supported 204 value chains of sustainable, climate-resilient Amazon socio-biodiverse products.
• Over 29,000 individuals received socioeconomic benefits from USAID activities promoting climate resilient livelihoods.

Key Biodiversity Programs and Initiatives

USAID strengthens sustainable value chains to increase the economic value of the standing forest, resulting in additional socio-economic benefits for over 94,000 people. In addition to work with local communities, civil society, and government partners, USAID/Brazil has three programs dedicated to engaging the private sector to jointly co-design, co-implement and co-evaluate initiatives for greater scale, sustainability, and effectiveness toward biodiversity conservation and sustainable development in the region.

Partnership with US Forest Service (USFS)

USAID partners directly with USFS to strengthen Brazilian agencies that deal with fire management and control. This activity builds upon the long-term relationship USFS has with the Government of Brazil to promote specialized technical capacity to prevent and protect Brazilian forests from fire damage. The project cultivates improvement of protected areas management and natural resources management.

Sustainable Value Chains in Partnership with Instituto Internacional de Educação do Brasil (IEB) and USFS

The partnership builds the capacity of the government and local communities and Indigenous Peoples to manage protected areas (including Indigenous lands), develops sustainable livelihoods by building value chains for targeted products (Pirarucu fish, Brazil nut, sustainable timber, açaí berries).

Partnership Platform for the Amazon (PPA)

PPA is a collective action platform that aims to engage private sector companies and civil society organizations to develop and identify innovative solutions for sustainable development and conservation of the Brazilian Amazon. Through the PPA Enraiza platform USAID supports six projects dedicated to sustainability and socio-biodiversity, including Rare-Brazil, a mangrove conservation project that helps to absorb carbon emissions and reduce the impact of climate change.

Amazon Biodiversity Fund (ABF) Brazil

ABF is an Impact Earth fund co-designed with support from USAID/Brazil and the Alliance of Biodiversity International & CIAT (Alliance & CIAT). The Alliance & CIAT became ABF’s cornerstone investor by using $15 Million from USAID funds to invest in ABF. The fund administrator is Vox Capital and the fund manager is Impact Earth. Launched in 2019, ABF intends to fundraise approximately $50 million in private capital. The fund seeks to conserve biodiversity in the Brazilian Legal Amazon by investing in sustainable production supply chains and related conservation enterprises.