O Government of Minas Gerais will participate, next Wednesday (4/19), in the US Climate Action Summit 2023, in Washington, USA. The purpose of the event is to bring together world leaders from different spheres to discuss issues related to climate action. This is the first time that Brazil has participated in the summit and Minas Gerais will be the only state to represent the country, with the presence of the Deputy Governor of Minas Gerais, Professor Mateus, and the Secretary of State of the environment and sustainable development (Semad)Marilia Melo.

The event is promoted by The Climate Group, an international non-profit organization founded in 2003. In 2020, United States President Joe Biden invited The Climate Group to support the Climate Leaders Summit, c This is why the institution started to select and organize a series of events related to the theme.

The goal of the US Climate Action Summit is to create a platform that generates measurable results in climate policy and trade action, with participants at the center of the agenda. The meeting focuses on discussing sustainable development and promoting green investments in the United States, with the target audience of the meeting being American investors and business people. However, some developing countries are selected to participate in the summit.

By a joint of State Foundation for the Environment (Feam) with the Climate Group, the participation of the State of Minas Gerais was guaranteed. By participating in the event, the State will seek to qualify the initiatives of the National Environment and Water Resources System (Sisema) in the face of the challenges posed by the climate crisis, as well as to outline strategies that can improve adoption of renewable energy sources. and technologies for low-carbon mining.

In addition to debates and workshops, among the activities of the 2023 U.S. Climate Action Summit, a roundtable will bring together a diverse group of experts from the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil to discuss the use green finance as a tool. to combat climate change. Participants will share their experiences on the initiative and how it has been used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Environment in Minas

The state government has a series of ongoing or planned projects and actions to address climate change and ensure sustainability. “This is a global challenge in which Minas works systematically to achieve good results locally, in the quest to increase the adaptive capacity of the most vulnerable people and regions and to guarantee a sustainable development path, low carbon, inclusive and climate resilient. says the Secretary of State for the Environment and Sustainable Development, Marília Melo.

In December 2022, Feam introduced the state’s Climate Action Plan (Plac), which will promote low-carbon development and the state’s energy transition.

Prepared with international support and the effective participation of civil society, the productive sector and universities, the Plac has 29 actions, divided into 103 sub-actions and around 300 objectives with deadlines defined in various strategic sectors, both for decarbonization as for the energy transition, as well as for adaptation to the climate.

Among the strategies identified to achieve the goals set by the plan are the reduction of deforestation, the continuous restoration of forests until 2050, the promotion of low-carbon agriculture, among others.

The preliminary version of the Minas Gerais Atmospheric Emissions Control Plan (PCEA) is also the subject of initial discussions with the municipalities of Minas Gerais, which should identify the main sources of emissions and the respective air pollutants, the geographical coverage and the regions to be prioritized, as well as the guidelines. and actions with respective objectives, targets and timelines.

Currently, Bill No. 3,966/2022, which will establish the national policy to combat climate change, is under discussion in the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais (ALMG).

Race to zero

In 2021, Minas Gerais became the first Latin American state to join the Race to Zero campaign, a UK-led global initiative that aims to neutralize net greenhouse gas emissions on the planet by 2050. The coalition aims to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees over the next 30 years. The goal will be achieved by stepping up decarbonization actions, attracting investment in sustainable businesses and creating green jobs.

Among the regional actions planned in Race to Zero is the updating of the inventory of emissions and removals of greenhouse gases, in order to identify the main sources of emissions, trends and elements to support policies. effective public emission mitigation measures in Minas Gerais.

Another initiative to achieve the goal set with Race To Zero was the creation of the Minas Gerais Forum on Energy and Climate Change (Femc), through State Decree 48.292/2021. The general objective of the group is to promote reflection, within the State, on the global phenomena of climate change and energy transition.

In addition, the government of Minas Gerais has developed actions to attract investment in the renewable energy sector, being currently the second state in Brazil in the production of photovoltaic energy. The state has an installed distributed solar (GD) generation capacity of 2,434 gigawatts (GW), second only to São Paulo, with 2,437 GW. With this capacity, Minas avoids the emission of 394,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year.

mines and united states

The cooperative relationship between the United States and Minas Gerais covers several areas, from health to science and technology. Sending mining missions to the North American country is an extremely important guideline in this process. In 2019, Governor Romeu Zema fulfilled agendas in the United States to attract investment for the state with the aim of generating jobs and income for the people of Minas Gerais.

The following year, the Governor and U.S. Ambassador to Brazil, Todd C. Chapman, met in audience to discuss existing cooperative projects, in addition to the states’ disaster infrastructure donation. -United.