CAR a CAR: A Relação Entre o Crédito Rural Subsidiado e o Desmatamento

A policy brief by CPI/PUC-Rio reveals that 15% of Brazil's subsidized rural credit (R$ 14 billion annually) between 2020 and 2022 went to properties that deforested. This deforestation is heavily concentrated in large estates, with the top 5% of recipients responsible for 74% of the loss. The Cerrado biome is the most affected. The report argues that current restrictions, such as environmental embargos, are insufficient as they cover less than 5% of new deforestation, and recommends that subsidies be granted exclusively to properties with no deforestation.

• Between 2020 and 2022, approximately 31% of properties that engaged in deforestation accessed subsidized rural credit. These properties received an average of R$ 14 billion per year, which represents 15% of the total volume of subsidized credit (R$ 93 billion annually).
• Deforestation among subsidized credit recipients is highly concentrated in a small number of large properties. The average area of properties that both receive subsidized credit and deforest is approximately ten times larger (510 ha) than those that receive credit but do not deforest (52 ha). Specifically, the largest 5% of properties accessing this policy are responsible for 74% of the identified deforestation.
• The Cerrado biome shows the strongest link between subsidized credit and deforestation. It accounts for 47% of the subsidized rural credit associated with deforestation and 50% of the deforestation associated with subsidized rural credit. In contrast, the Amazon accounts for 17% of deforestation among subsidized credit recipients, and the Atlantic Forest accounts for 5%.

APA

Mourão, J., Stussi, M., & Souza, P. (2024). CAR a CAR: A Relação Entre o Crédito Rural Subsidiado e o Desmatamento. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/CAR-a-CAR-A-Relacao-Entre-o-Credito-Rural-Subsidiado-e-o-Desmatamento.pdf

Chicago

Mourão, João, Mariana Stussi, and Priscila Souza. CAR a CAR: A Relação Entre o Crédito Rural Subsidiado e o Desmatamento. Climate Policy Initiative, 2024. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/CAR-a-CAR-A-Relacao-Entre-o-Credito-Rural-Subsidiado-e-o-Desmatamento.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mourão |first1=João |last2=Stussi |first2=Mariana |last3=Souza |first3=Priscila |title=CAR a CAR: A Relação Entre o Crédito Rural Subsidiado e o Desmatamento |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=July 2024 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/CAR-a-CAR-A-Relacao-Entre-o-Credito-Rural-Subsidiado-e-o-Desmatamento.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mouro2024car, author = {Mourão, João and Stussi, Mariana and Souza, Priscila}, title = {{CAR a CAR: A Relação Entre o Crédito Rural Subsidiado e o Desmatamento}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/CAR-a-CAR-A-Relacao-Entre-o-Credito-Rural-Subsidiado-e-o-Desmatamento.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }