The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s GreenTech Business mission to Brazil last week, held in partnership with the U.S. government, showcased the promise of U.S. green technology and provided a platform to discuss ideas for projects, innovative solutions, and regulatory best practices. Part of the Chamber’s efforts to build momentum on the road to COP28, the mission included high-level government and business leaders from both countries with the aim of fostering cooperation on Brazil’s ambitious goals and strategies for climate adaptation and sustainable growth.
Who did we meet with?
The Chamber joined forces with local partner AmCham Brazil to organize meetings in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. More than 40 Brazilian and American companies joined the meetings with Fernando Haddad, Brazil’s Minister of Finance; Lucas Ramalho Maciel, Deputy Secretary of Green Economy, Decarbonization and Bioindustry of the Ministry of Development, Commerce and Services; Lucas Ferraz, Secretary of International Relations of São Paulo; Thiago Pampolha, Secretary of Environment and Sustainability of Rio de Janeiro; executives from Brazil's National Development Bank (BNDES) and many other Brazilian authorities.
Ambassador David Thorne, Senior Advisor to the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, U.S. Ambassador to Brazil Elizabeth Bagley, Chief Climate Officer of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation Jake Levine and Senior Climate Advisor of U.S. Department of Agriculture Jeremy Adamson highlighted opportunities for U.S. collaboration and were joined by private sector leaders from companies such as Boeing, Honeywell, Cargill, Merck Animal Health, GE and AES, among others.
Key Takeaways:
- The mission highlighted the strategic importance of U.S.-Brazil cooperation and opportunities for climate transition and green growth. Brazil is an important destination for U.S. investment, which accounts for 23% of all FDI in Brazil. U.S. FDI in the country is crucial for Brazil’s plans for neo industrialization and creating local jobs and economic opportunities for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as their suppliers along the various value chains. During the mission, American and Brazilian business leaders discussed investment opportunities to spur sustainable agriculture, clean energy, forestry, and the bioeconomy, all consistent with Brazil's climate goals.
- Support for Brazil’s climate and deforestation goals and plans for decarbonizing the economy. The Mission delegation learned about Brazil's climate policy and plans for ecological transformation led by the Minister of Finance Fernando Haddad and currently in Brazilian Congress. Discussions also included Brazil’s efforts to improve Brazil’s business environment with a focus on the tax reform. Curbing deforestation in the Amazon Forest was also a central theme addressed during the mission. The U.S. government advanced on governance requirements for disbursing the first tranche to the Amazon Fund, a global initiative focused on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. The private sector is an invaluable partner to the Amazon Fund, managed by BNDES, through tech development, scientific modeling, and green financing. Companies discussed opportunities for advancing nature-based solutions and building a bioeconomy in the rainforest biome.
- The U.S. and Brazil stakeholders addressed global food security by coordinating policies, strategies, and knowledge sharing. During the mission discussions focused on collaborations, including via public-private partnerships, to promoting regenerative and precision agriculture, ensuring traceability of commodities and products, sharingcross-border information, finding solutions to the global fertilizer shortage, and ensuring alignment on intellectual property protections for agribusiness promoting innovative technologies.
- Global initiatives are opportunities for Brazil and U.S. to collaborate on climate action. The mission highlighted initiatives including COP, First Movers Coalition and the Leaf Coalition.
Looking towards the future
Brazil has just assumed the presidency of the G20, with the next G20 Summit set to take place in Rio de Janeiro in November 2024. With engagement from the private sector, Brazil’s G20 presidency can provide an opportunity to cooperate on global priorities such as restructuring multilateral development banks to unleashing financing for social investment and climate adaptation. Additionally, Brazil is preparing for COP30 in 2025, to be hosted in the Brazilian city of Belem, to promote Global South priorities, implementation support, and financing.
The U.S. Chamber will continue to be the leading voice of business to drive policies shaping a path forward for Brazil’s sustainable economic growth. With Brazil and the U.S. being both energy and agriculture powerhouses, there are endless opportunities for collaboration.
Join the Chamber for our engagement at COP28 in the UAE in December to highlight the important role the private sector plays in developing and deploying innovative solutions for a green future.
About the authors
Tatiana Niang
Tatiana Niang is a Communications Manager for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
