Climate change reduces Brazilian GDP, says Environment Secretary

The executive secretary of the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), João Paulo Capobianco, said that so-called climate change is responsible for the reduction in Brazil’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and delays the country’s development. The statement was given in an interview given to CNN Brazil.

When citing 2022 data produced by the World Bank, Capobianco said that “Brazil loses significant resources necessary for its growth and development due to climate change”.

According to data from the World Bank, Brazil loses 0.1% of GDP each year due to climate change.

“We must incorporate the climate dimension into the country’s planning and adopt adaptation measures. It’s something urgent that needs to be done. Brazil is starting to do this, but it needs to speed up the process. This is what will allow us to minimize this impact on the economy and people’s lives”, stated Capobianco.

Capobianco’s speech corroborates previous statements by the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva, who has already stated that climate change could “impact Brazil’s ability to produce food”.

“We have just identified, through scientific studies, desert areas in Brazil. Expansion of the low humidity area in several regions of our country. In other words, for Brazil to continue helping with the planet’s food security, we will need to do our homework regarding the climate […] We also have another problem, which is the issue of the risk of global inflation, which can also be caused by food insecurity due to climate change. Generally, an association is made very quickly between the risk of inflation and the risk of economic and geopolitical instability associated with energy. But let’s also think that this risk is perhaps even greater in relation to food security”, said the minister during participation in an event organized by the American Chamber of Commerce for Brazil (Amcham), in February 2024.

In November 2023, when speaking at TEDXAmazônia, Marina compared climate change to a war with “nanomissiles” being launched “all the time into the atmosphere”. On the occasion, the minister also suggested the creation of “a humanitarian corridor so that children, young people, people can have a future”.

“We need to realize that what is happening with climate change is a war and it is a war that sometimes seems imperceptible. It’s as if we are launching nanomissiles all the time into the atmosphere that are changing the great cosmic regularities […] Nature is showing here [que há limites] to have, but there are no limits to being. There are no limits to writing the best poem, there are no limits to making the best football play, nor teaching the best class”, said the minister.