Brazil working to mitigate extreme weather events

Extreme weather events like heavy rains and record heatwaves are forcing Brazil’s government to develop mitigation strategies.

This year, heavy rains severely damaged highways, especially in coastal areas, while strong winds in early November led to a collapse of a large part of São Paulo’s electricity network, leaving thousands without power for days. Meanwhile, Rio de Janeiro is suffering sweltering heat.

“Humanity is not working at the quantity and speed to avoid the point of no return [regarding climate change]. We are experiencing the effects of extreme climate events, with strong rains, heatwaves,” environment minister Marina Silva told journalists. 

"We face a dramatic situation with very high temperatures and strong winds that carry fire very easily to forest areas that previously had no record of fire. We are increasing our firefighting capacity, with more than 3,000 firefighters working to fight forest fires across the country," she said in response to a question by BNamericas.

Silva added that Brazil is the sixth largest emitter of carbon dioxide, largely because of forest fires.

According to Silva, the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva administration has reduced deforestation by almost 50% and is working on other fronts to mitigate extreme weather events.

"We are working on a strong agenda to contain the spread of illegal mining in the Amazon rainforest region. Furthermore, projects that have the possibility of more relevant environmental impacts, such as oil exploration in the so-called Equatorial Margin, the Ferrogrão rail construction project, or even the Angra 3 [nuclear] plant are not projects that will be automatically approved, but they will undergo a rigorous environmental impact assessment process," said Silva.

Brazil could become "an exporter of sustainability," according to Silva

"We already have a clean energy matrix that helps the products we export to reduce the amount of carbon emitted. We are capable of having agriculture that safely feeds the world, without having to cut down a tree. Furthermore, Brazil has great capacity to become a big green hydrogen producer, decarbonizing our local industry and encouraging this source of clean energy," said Silva.

Extreme weather is generating substantial economic risks.

"It is easier to include climate event risk mitigation mechanisms in new contracts than in existing contracts, which is why I see the need for, at some point, the regulators of each sector to assess climate events in each segment and from there call companies and public authorities to discuss solutions," Alberto Sogayar, a lawyer specialized in infrastructure contracts and partner at Sogayar e Alcântara Advogados law firm, told BNamericas.

"The energy sector in Brazil is the most exposed to risks, as our energy transmission system is primarily run through wires on poles in the streets. But infrastructure logistics are also being affected by extreme weather events. The drought in the north of the country has affected river navigation, while subways and trains suffer from continuous delays during torrential rain in large cities," he added.