Brazil’s Better Future: Prosperity for People, Nature and Climate

WRI Brasil's 2023–2027 strategy focuses on transforming cities and food, land, and water systems to reduce inequality and protect ecosystems. Key goals include achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, expanding green urban infrastructure, and promoting a 'bioeconomy' in the Amazon. The strategy emphasizes a 'count it, change it, scale it' approach, leveraging research and partnerships to implement nature-based climate solutions and sustainable agriculture.

• Brazil's urban areas house nearly 90% of the population but suffer from significant planning failures, including a housing deficit of 6 million units and over 16 million people living in informal settlements often located in high-risk areas like floodplains and steep hillsides.
• Land-use change, specifically the clearing of forests for agricultural commodities like beef and soy, is the primary driver of nature degradation and the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil.
• The Brazilian Amazon presents a development paradox where agricultural conversion has destroyed nearly 23% of primary forests and generates over half of national emissions, yet the region contributes only 9% to the national GDP.
• WRI research indicates that Brazil can eliminate deforestation in the Amazon while simultaneously increasing GDP by more than $8 billion annually and creating 800,000 jobs through a new 'bioeconomy' model.
• Brazil's updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) has increased its climate ambition, now targeting a reduction in emissions of between 59% and 67% by 2035.
• The country has committed to a national restoration plan, Planaveg 2.0, which aims to restore 12 million hectares of degraded land.

APA

World Resources Institute (2023). Brazil’s Better Future: Prosperity for People, Nature and Climate. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2025-11/wri-brasil-2023-27-strategy.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Brazil’s Better Future: Prosperity for People, Nature and Climate. 2023. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2025-11/wri-brasil-2023-27-strategy.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Brazil’s Better Future: Prosperity for People, Nature and Climate |date=2023 |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2025-11/wri-brasil-2023-27-strategy.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2023brazils, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Brazil’s Better Future: Prosperity for People, Nature and Climate}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2023}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/2025-11/wri-brasil-2023-27-strategy.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }