Evidence from public and private climate finance in the land use and forestry sectors of Brazil.

Brazil’s socio-economic development opportunities are linked with the state of forest biomes, which are at the same time perceived as a global public good by international climate finance actors. Researchers from the EU SNAPFI project recently studied Brazil’s land use and deforestation challenge to assess the role of transnational policy actors in the context of international climate finance.

Their findings show that:

• The Brazilian government has set a zero-deforestation target for 2030, but agricultural interest groups seek to weaken policy implementation.
• Based on interview findings, international funding comes with ideas, norms and conditions from funders; international climate finance is not a “blank check” but inherently political.
• International climate finance actors engage in the national policy struggle about the terms of policy implementation and are found to be part of the stricter implementation coalition.
• Many international actors view the preservation of Brazil’s forest biomes as a global public good, while some domestic actors see them as resources that should primarily benefit national development.
• Balancing the global public benefits – reduction of emissions from deforestation – and local public benefits such as reduction of poverty – should be guiding principles for the provision of international climate finance.
• Clarification of the terms of implementing zero deforestation policies by the Brazilian government will provide clearer mandates for international funders to support implementation.