November 17, 2024
MANAUS, Brazil (November 17, 2024) – Today, on the margins of the G20, a group of public and private sector leaders launched the Brazil Restoration & Bioeconomy Finance Coalition (BRB Finance Coalition) to accelerate the conservation and restoration of Brazil’s forests, with a targeted, aggregate investment of at least $10 billion by 2030 among all Coalition members.
President Biden announced the launch of the Coalition in Manaus, in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, as part of the historic first visit of a United States President to the Amazon region, where he called for ambitious action and new approaches to protect the Amazon while building a thriving green economy, and highlighting the Coalition as a signal of a growing recognition of the need for new partnerships to accelerate climate finance and investment.
Founding members include Agni, Banco do Brasil, BNDES, Biomas, BTG Pactual, Conservation International, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, IDB Invest, Instituto Arapyaú, Instituto Clima e Sociedade, Instituto Itaúsa, Mombak, The Nature Conservancy, Regia Capital, re.green, the World Bank Group, and the World Economic Forum.
The BRB Finance Coalition expects to support projects with the aim of conserving and restoring at least 5 million hectares of Brazilian forests, contributing to Brazil's efforts to halt and reverse deforestation. The Coalition’s goals also include launching projects by 2030 that will help to sequester at least 1 gigaton of CO2 emissions and invest $500 million in initiatives benefiting Indigenous peoples and local communities, with a focus on the Amazon region.
The Coalition intends to be aligned with the Brazilian Ecological Transformation Plan and complement existing climate and nature initiatives in Brazil, including Brazil's Climate and Ecological Transformation Investment Platform and the Nature Investment Lab. It anticipates leveraging investments in key bioeconomy activities – such as low-emissions agriculture, forestry projects, and land-use actions – to support Brazil’s goal of restoring 12 million hectares of forest by 2030. The Coalition will collaborate throughout 2025 to advance concrete outcomes to support these goals. These outcomes are to be announced at the UN climate summit in Belém, Brazil (COP30) in late 2025.
The Instituto Clima e Sociedade (iCS), with the support of the Nature Investment Lab, will serve as Secretariat in support of the Coalition’s early work in 2025.
“The launch of this Coalition at the end of Brazil's G20 Presidency and on the road to COP30 highlights a critical moment to mobilize financial resources for large-scale restoration and bioeconomy activities. We are honored to support this initiative, linking it to our recently launched Nature Investment Lab and the Brazilian Investment Platform (BIP), to strengthen the coordination among public, private, and civil society stakeholders in leveraging financing for nature-based solutions in Brazil,” said Maria Netto, Executive Director of the Institute for Climate and Society (iCS).
“Since his first day in office, President Lula's government has strengthened and committed to the forest agenda as a cornerstone of Brazil’s development. The undeniable effort to reduce deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is reflected in the 47 percent reduction in deforestation rates over the past two years. As a key player in this strategy, BNDES has focused its efforts on transforming the Deforestation Arc into the Restoration Arc. More than BRL 1 billion in funds, including both reimbursable (Fundo Clima) and non-reimbursable (Fundo Amazônia) resources, have been immediately made available. The restoration agenda is the most efficient path for carbon sequestration, social inclusion, and the reduction of regional inequalities. The recent launch of BNDES Florestas is an example of the bank’s commitment to this agenda, responding to sector demands to tailor its guarantee structure to the specific needs of these projects. Initiatives like these reinforce the already successful resource mobilization agenda, recognized by ALIDE, such as the Floresta Viva program, with calls for proposals launched in 2023 and 2024, mobilizing over BRL 500 million for restoration activities across all Brazilian biomes, with a special focus on mangroves, the Cerrado, the Pantanal, and the Caatinga. We are committed to Mission 1.5° and to overcoming barriers and mobilizing resources for the development of the sector in Brazil,” said Aloizio Mercadante, CEO of BNDES.
“We are proud to be part of the BRB Finance Coalition as it highlights the importance of forest restoration in Brazil as a business-oriented, impact-driven tool that addresses social inequality, biodiversity loss and the climate crisis all at once. There is no time to waste, and decisive action must begin now. Scaling this activity is crucial over the next few years and will require catalyzing resources and ensuring the quality of these projects,” said Fabio Sakamoto, CEO of Biomas.
Gerrity Lansing, Head of the BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group, said, “The Brazil Restoration & Bioeconomy Finance Coalition seeks to unlock the potential for sustainable investment that protects the environment while fostering economic growth, combining environmental conservation with economic innovation. As it progresses, the Coalition will seek to deliver concrete solutions that address climate change while restoring nature and contributing to a thriving bioeconomy. BTG Pactual is proud to join the Coalition and to support Brazil’s leadership in forest restoration and the development of the forest bioeconomy.”
“The Amazon functions as our planet’s central nervous system — regulating global weather patterns, impacting the supply of food and freshwater, and safeguarding an extraordinary diversity of life on Earth. Protecting its health is protecting our own,” said Patricia Zurita, Conservation International’s Chief Strategy Officer. “Together, the BRB Finance Coalition recognizes not only the scale of the problem but the most effective solution: channeling largescale finance directly to Indigenous peoples and local communities, who have protected their lands for centuries. The future of our economies, our communities, and our planet depend on initiatives like this. Conservation International looks forward to putting the full force of our weight behind its success.”
“The launch of the BRB Finance Coalition marks a pivotal step in mobilizing the investments needed to protect and restore Brazil's invaluable forests while fostering sustainable economic growth. While the Latin American region is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, it also holds immense potential as a source of scalable, nature-based solutions to address this global challenge. We believe this Coalition can act as a cornerstone for driving impactful climate finance solutions that empower local communities, enhance biodiversity, and build resilient, sustainable economies,” said Gabriel Azevedo, Chief Strategy Officer of IDB Invest.
“For 16 years, Arapyaú has been working in Brazil to foster and strengthen networks and coalitions, believing that only through collaboration and the involvement of multiple stakeholders it will be possible to achieve scalable solutions to complex challenges. The formation of the BRB Finance Coalition is very powerful. As a country, we have the capacity to advance the Restoration and Bioeconomy agendas, and initiatives like this Coalition can convey the necessary strength to leverage results,” said Renata Piazzon, General Director of Instituto Arapyaú.
“We celebrate the adoption of the high-level principles for the bioeconomy at the G20. The BRB Finance Coalition initiative transforms these principles into action. It will foster investment in the bioeconomy and contribute towards a global economy that is more productive and positive for climate, nature and people,” said Marcelo Furtado, CEO of Instituto Itaúsa.
“The launch of this Coalition in the midst of the G20 reinforces the opportunity and responsibility to leverage financial resources for the restoration and sustainable management of the bioeconomy at scale, aiming at the maintenance of native forests and the transition to a lowcarbon economic model. Delays have been costing humanity more and more, that is why concrete and collaborative commitments like this help to show the way towards innovative solutions for climate and biodiversity,” said Karen Oliveira, Public Policy and Government Relations Director at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Brazil.
“The formation of the Coalition reflects a very robust and clear message: Brazil is a launch pad for an inclusive and transformative green economy that generates shared prosperity for everyone, without exceptions. Nature-based solutions are the most relevant contribution we can make as a country to this new moment in global capitalism. It is the responsibility of the Brazilian capital market to innovate and mobilize the necessary capital so that this opportunity for the future becomes real gains for the Global Community. We are proud and happy to be part of this milestone in consolidating a new way of thinking about the economic and geopolitical relevance of countries,” said José Pugas, Head of Sustainability of Regia Capital.
“The restoration of tropical forests has a key role to play in addressing the climate crisis, reversing biodiversity loss and generating sustainable economic opportunities for surrounding communities. Brazil has the potential to be a leader in this sector, and re.green is proud to join the BRB Finance Coalition as a founding member. We understand that scale necessitates coordination among private and public sector actors, all across the value chain, and this emerging alliance is a strong signal in that direction,” said Thiago Picolo, CEO of re.green.
“The UK welcomes the goals of the Brazil Restoration and Bioeconomy Coalition and the potential of the initiative to have a lasting, positive impact on Brazil's people and forests. We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with forest countries globally in supporting locally-led visions of a forest-positive future that works for people, climate and nature,” said Maggie Charnley, Deputy Director of the International Forests Unit, Department of Energy Security and Net Zero.
“Brazil has committed to restoring 12 million hectares of land by 2030, enhancing ecosystem function and stimulating productive capacity. The Brazil Restoration and Bioeconomy Finance Coalition is the type of innovative public-private-philanthropic partnership required to help meet such an ambitious goal. The time to begin is now,” said Jack Hurd, Head, Nature Positive, World Economic Forum.
The World Bank Group is supporting Brazil’s restoration and bioeconomy agendas in the context of its Amazonia Viva initiative and in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank’s Amazonia Forever umbrella initiative. “On the public sector side, IBRD is financing Banco do Brasil’s program to restore forests and pastureland and to develop the bioeconomy on priority rural land belonging to the clients of this large public bank,” said Johannes Zutt, World Bank Country Director for Brazil.
“Meanwhile, on the private sector side, in July 2024, IFC invested in a Sustainability Linked Bond issued by Natura Cosméticos, with performance targets to improve sourcing of bioingredients in the Brazilian Amazon,” said Manuel Reyes-Retana, IFC Regional Director for South America.
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About Conservation International: Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, for biodiversity and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples and local communities to help people and nature thrive together. Visit Conservation.org for more, and follow us on Conservation News, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.