Landscape of Climate Finance for Land Use in Brazil: Agricultural Credit Policy

This report analyzes the role of rural credit as the primary climate finance instrument for land use in Brazil between 2015 and 2020, detailing the sources of funding, the regulatory framework of the Brazilian Agricultural Plan, and the specific credit lines used to promote low-carbon agriculture.

• Between 2015 and 2020, rural credit served as the primary climate finance instrument for land use in Brazil, averaging US$ 3.2 billion per year. However, this represented only 8% of the total annual rural credit operations for finance, investment, and industrialization, which averaged US$ 42.2 billion per year.
• Private finance from banks and credit cooperatives provided the majority of climate-aligned rural credit, totaling US$ 2.0 billion per year (65%). This high private sector share is attributed to mandates within the Brazilian Agricultural Plan (Plano Safra) requiring financial institutions to allocate portions of checking and savings account deposits to rural credit.
• Public finance contributed US$ 700 million per year (22%) to climate flows in rural credit. The BNDES was the largest public source at US$ 386 million per year (12%), followed by Constitutional Finance Funds (FCFs) which collectively provided US$ 314 million per year (10%), split between the Northeast (FNE: US$ 199 million/year), North (FNO: US$ 71 million/year), and Midwest (FCO: US$ 37 million/year) regions.
• The National Program for Low-Carbon Emissions in Agriculture (ABC Program) was the primary dedicated credit line for climate finance, channeling an average of US$ 539 million per year (17% of tracked climate rural credit), though this was only 1% of total annual rural credit. However, the majority of climate finance via rural credit (56%, or US$ 1.8 billion/year) was not linked to any specific program.
• Other significant credit lines included the National Program to Support Medium-Sized Rural Producers (PRONAMP) at US$ 396 million per year (13%) and the National Program for Family Farming (PRONAF) at US$ 333 million per year (11%). A noted data limitation is the inability to quantify specific flows destined for traditional communities, quilombolas, and indigenous peoples.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2023). Landscape of Climate Finance for Land Use in Brazil: Agricultural Credit Policy. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/landscape-of-climate-finance-for-land-use-in-brazil-agricultural-credit-policy/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Landscape of Climate Finance for Land Use in Brazil: Agricultural Credit Policy. 2023. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/landscape-of-climate-finance-for-land-use-in-brazil-agricultural-credit-policy/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Landscape of Climate Finance for Land Use in Brazil: Agricultural Credit Policy |date=6 September 2023 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/landscape-of-climate-finance-for-land-use-in-brazil-agricultural-credit-policy/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2023landscape, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Landscape of Climate Finance for Land Use in Brazil: Agricultural Credit Policy}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/landscape-of-climate-finance-for-land-use-in-brazil-agricultural-credit-policy/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }