Alckmin: the rich pollute and the poor pay the bill – 03/27/2024 – Market

The Vice President of the Republic and Minister of Industry and Commerce, Geraldo Alckmin, demanded commitment from the richest countries in international solutions in the face of the “urgent need” to combat climate change, and recalled that the year 2023 broke heat records.

“The rich pollute and the poor pay the bill. And among the poor, the poorest still pay [mais] the account”, he stated this Wednesday (27).

The speech took place alongside ministers Carlos Fávaro, of Agriculture, and Alexandre Silveira, of Mines and Energy, as well as parliamentarians and agribusiness representatives, during an event by the Parliamentary Biofuel Front.

The vice-president also stated that Brazil has the power to lead discussions on three central themes in the global debate: food security, energy security and the fight against climate change.

But he once again demanded commitment from the richest countries by stating that he will demand from the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, progress in relation to the international cooperation agreement between Mercosur and the European Union.

“I’m going to São Paulo, President Macron is going to São Paulo. We’re going to have a meeting at Fiesp [Federação da Indústria do Estado de São Paulo] and I will demand the Mercosur-European Union agreement”, he said.

Macron fulfills agendas in Brazil alongside President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), in which sustainable development is a central theme. At the same time, the Frenchman was mainly responsible for stopping negotiations between the two commercial groups.

Alckmin stated that he intends to take the biofuels agenda to Macron and recalled that the sector has been attracting investment from several countries, such as the United States and India. He argued that the bill approved in the Chamber of Deputies on the topic is essential to provide legal certainty to this market.

He also defended Tax Reform and said that it is necessary to build an “agro-industry” in Brazil, with green energy and less polluting fuels.

At the end of the event, he, the ministers, parliamentarians and sector representatives posed for a photo in front of a truck powered 100% with biodiesel, a more sustainable version of diesel and defended by agriculture as a way to replace fossil fuel.