CAR a CAR: As Instituições Financeiras e o Crédito para Propriedades com Desmatamento

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes the relationship between subsidized rural credit and deforestation in Brazil between 2020 and 2024. It finds that a significant portion of public funds is directed toward properties with a history of deforestation, highlighting a gap between the sustainability policies of financial institutions and their actual lending portfolios.

• Between 2020 and 2024, 36% of the volume of subsidized rural credit was allocated to properties that recorded deforestation after 2009, totaling R$ 205.6 billion out of R$ 567.7 billion in identifiable properties.
• Public banks and credit cooperatives are the primary providers of subsidized credit to properties with deforestation, accounting for 91% of the total volume (R$ 43.4 billion).
• Specific financial institutions show high percentages of subsidized credit associated with deforestation: Banco da Amazônia (71%), Banco do Nordeste (52%), Caixa Econômica (49%), Banrisul (48%), and Banco do Brasil (36%). Among private banks, Rabobank (63%), Itaú (48%), and Santander (36%) also show significant exposure.
• Deforestation occurs both before and after the granting of credit. For credit granted in 2020, 20% of properties deforested only before the operation, 12% both before and after, and 3% only after. Overall, 8.4% of credit is associated with properties that deforested after funds were released.
• The volume of subsidized resources destined for properties with deforestation grew by 56% between 2020 and 2024, increasing from R$ 30.6 billion to R$ 47.6 billion, outpacing the 51% growth of total CAR-linked subsidized credit.
• The report argues that current rural credit rules are insufficient because they primarily rely on environmental embargos, which capture only a small portion of deforestation; a previous CPI/PUC-Rio study found that less than 5% of new deforestation areas were embarged.

APA

Souza, P., Stussi, M., Mourão, J., & Oliveira, W. (2024). CAR a CAR: As Instituições Financeiras e o Crédito para Propriedades com Desmatamento. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CAR-a-CAR-As-Instituicoes-Financeiras-e-o-Credito-para-Propriedades-com-Desmatamento.pdf

Chicago

Souza, Priscila, Mariana Stussi, João Mourão, and Wagner Oliveira. CAR a CAR: As Instituições Financeiras e o Crédito para Propriedades com Desmatamento. Climate Policy Initiative, 2024. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CAR-a-CAR-As-Instituicoes-Financeiras-e-o-Credito-para-Propriedades-com-Desmatamento.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Souza |first1=Priscila |last2=Stussi |first2=Mariana |last3=Mourão |first3=João |last4=Oliveira |first4=Wagner |title=CAR a CAR: As Instituições Financeiras e o Crédito para Propriedades com Desmatamento |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=December 2024 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CAR-a-CAR-As-Instituicoes-Financeiras-e-o-Credito-para-Propriedades-com-Desmatamento.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{souza2024car, author = {Souza, Priscila and Stussi, Mariana and Mourão, João and Oliveira, Wagner}, title = {{CAR a CAR: As Instituições Financeiras e o Crédito para Propriedades com Desmatamento}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CAR-a-CAR-As-Instituicoes-Financeiras-e-o-Credito-para-Propriedades-com-Desmatamento.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }