Ministers defend energy transition in Davos; Marina meets with Bill Gates

The ministers of the Environment and Climate Change, Marina, Silva, of Health, Nísia Trindade, and of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, participated this Tuesday (16) in the first debate table of the 54th World Economic Forum, in Davos , in Switzerland. President Lula avoided attending the event for the second time, and this time, not even the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, attended.

They reinforced that Brazil is a leader in the global energy transition, and that it is a safe place for investments in environmentally sustainable production fronts, especially in the areas of food, energy and health.

According to Marina Silva, the world needs to accelerate investments in renewable energy to combat the effects of climate change. According to her, environmental policy became a transversal policy in the 1st year of the 3rd term of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT).

“Brazil came back and Brazil settled in. From COP28 [Conferência das Nações Unidas sobre as Mudanças Climáticas de 2023], we have made a courageous decision to put the transition to the end of the use of fossil fuels on the agenda. This means putting our foot on the renewable energy accelerator, which will have to be tripled, with robust investments”, said the Minister of the Environment.

The minister also highlighted that the government has dedicated efforts to an agenda that prioritizes sustainable finance, bioeconomy, in addition to the issue of new infrastructure and the circular economy. “This is the Brazil of the 21st century. Let’s ensure that tackling the climate issue is at the same time tackling social inequalities, with a new cycle of prosperity,” she said.

Minister Silveira stated that the Lula government wants to make the energy transition “fair and inclusive”. He stated that the focus is to increase the production of wind and solar energy, so that the country remains a “barn” of clean alternative energies.

“The G20 will be a great opportunity in Brazil for the energy transition to be seen by the world as a transition that takes into account the global economy, the issue of combating inequality”, he stated and added that the country “advances like no one else” in decarbonization of energy matrices”, he declared.

Nísia Trindade, in turn, said that the Ministry of Health needs to help in the fight against climate change: “We normally see health in those aspects of the climate, environmental and social issue, but our understanding is that health needs to participate in the mitigation effort and adaptation and that it has a very strong role”, he stated.

Marina Silva and Bill Gates

In Davos, this Tuesday (16), minister Marina Silva met with Bill Gates, the billionaire philanthropist founder of Microsoft. They talked about energy transition and the billionaire reinforced his speech in defense of investments in adaptation for countries to achieve zero carbon emissions goals.

On the occasion, the minister presented the highlights of the Brazilian environmental agenda, spoke about actions to combat deforestation and about the holding of COP 30 in Belém, Pará, in 2025. Gates was interested in holding the summit, but according to CNN Brazilhe will be able to visit Brazil before the event takes place.

“It was a strategic conversation to be implemented in practice, probably during this visit”, he commented.