Germany wants to support Brazil’s just transition “beyond energy sector” – dev minister

Germany hopes to start a partnership with the new Brazilian government that addresses the socio-ecological transformation of the country’s national economy as a whole, development minister Svenja Schulze said. Following the victory of President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Brazil now “has the chance to move away from an economy based on forest destruction,” Schulze said, adding that it “can become a powerhouse for sustainable agriculture and one of the leading nations of the new green hydrogen economy.” This was a big opportunity for countries and banks to jointly support development and start a partnership that goes beyond the energy sector, Schulze said. As representative of the German G7 presidency and German World Bank governor, she aims to start talks on the partnership directly after the UN climate change conference COP27.

Germany hopes to start a partnership similar to the “Just Energy Transition Partnerships” (JETP), which are set up to help emerging countries move away from fossil fuels and speed up their energy transition, and involves development policy and development banks. The new partnership with Brazil could be a "kind of Just Transition Partnership for the whole of the economy," said Schulze. Lula reiterated Brazil’s commitments to climate action at COP27, promising to protect the Amazon and restore leadership on climate change, Reuters reported. The former president is set to take office in January 2023. The German government had already announced it was willing to quickly unfreeze funds to help curb deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, following Lula’s election victory. The funds were frozen after a surge in deforestation in the South American rainforest and disputes with the government of outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro.