Brazil and the Paris Agreement: REDD+ as an instrument of Brazil’s Nationally Determined Contribution compliance

The Paris Agreement on climate change recognises the central role of forests in achieving the well-below 2 °C goal through mitigation options covered by the REDD+ mechanism. Moreover, the actions that a country intends to take to address climate change under the new treaty are translated through the implementation of its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). In this context, Brazil included REDD+ in its NDC submitted to the UNFCCC. Here, an overview of Brazil’s NDC is provided; focusing on its relation to the forest scope. Likewise, a discussion on the implications for the REDD+ governance framework in supporting the NDC compliance process is presented. Ultimately, it is argued that the goals announced in the country’s NDC can be considered unpretentious, and a paradox to the conservation approach. Brazil is not keeping up the momentum of accepting the importance of the driving role of forests along with other sectors for the accomplishment of its NDC. For instance, this can be clearly noticed by the flexibilisation of the forest national legislation adopted in 2012. On the other hand, the country has the potential to contribute more than the announced targets in the attempt to limit expected global warming. However, even to achieve the current established targets, the government must better engage in public policies to leverage and change the country’s course of development, which is still characterised by the dichotomy ‘development versus environmental conservation’.