COP26: Rio to expand Atlantic Forest coverage to 40% by 2050

The Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro at COP26 is signing its admission into two regional government groups committed to issues like climate change, biodiversity, and sustainability. The main goal to be proposed by the state at the global conference against climate change will be to expand the coverage of the Atlantic Forest from 30 to 40 percent by 2050.

To meet this goal, under the program Forests of Tomorrow is laid out the reforesting of over 5 thousand hectares of Atlantic Forest in the state, with the planting of 2.5 million of saplings of species of the biome in conservation units and other priority areas scattered through the state.

Among the targets to be adopted are conserving at least 30 percent of coastal land and water by 2030 and revising the state’s action plan for climate change in compliance with the goal in the Paris Agreement to keep the temperature rise at 1.5ºC.

Participation

Representing the state, Environment and Sustainability Secretary Thiago Pompolha attended the general assembly of regional government group Under 2. The coalition encompasses regional governments from a number of countries for the mitigation of greenhouse effect gas emissions, including such Brazilian states as São Paulo and Pernambuco.

Today (Nov. 8), Rio de Janeiro is joining Regions 4, which also combines subnational governments for targets surrounding environmental protection. The state government is also entering UN global emission reduction programs Race to Zero and Race to Resilience.

According to Rio’s State Secretariat for Environment and Sustainability, Rio has created 60 new conservation units since Brazil joined the Paris Agreement, in 2015. The state has 36 percent of protected area and 40 percent of Atlantic Forest forest coverage.

With the target of expanding the coverage of the Atlantic Forest by ten percentage points, the government estimates that over 440 thousand hectares are to be restored, with potential for absorbing 159 million tons of carbon dioxide. The concentration of this gas in the atmosphere is among the caused of global warming, and preserved forests are capable of absorbing it. According to the secretariat, the state plans to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

In addition to unveiling results and commitments in its efforts to tackle climate change, the state will invite participants across the world to Rio+30 in 2022, an event in celebration of 30 years since Eco92.