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This report by the Climate Policy Initiative/Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes the role of Brazilian cattle ranching in climate change, specifically focusing on methane emissions from enteric fermentation. It proposes a portfolio of solutions across land use, biological productivity, feed management, and production systems to increase productivity while reducing the sector's climate footprint. The document also evaluates existing public policies and provides recommendations to align agricultural growth with carbon neutrality goals.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes the economic viability of forest restoration in the Brazilian Amazon compared to cattle ranching. It proposes that a carbon price of US$ 20 per ton of CO2 captured via natural regeneration would make restoration more profitable than ranching, potentially capturing 16 Gt CO2 and avoiding another 32 Gt CO2 over 30 years.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes the economic viability of replacing extensive cattle ranching with large-scale forest restoration in the Brazilian Amazon through carbon credits. It proposes that a carbon price of US$ 20 per ton of CO2 captured via natural regeneration would make restoration more profitable than ranching across most of the region, potentially capturing 16 Gt of CO2 and avoiding 32 Gt of emissions over 30 years.

This report finds that deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is primarily driven by land grabbing rather than meat demand. Unlike other regions of Brazil where cattle growth increases land prices, in the Amazon, cattle expansion is associated with falling land prices and increased pasture degradation, reflecting an extensive, low-productivity business model fueled by the illegal occupation of public lands.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative/Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes the potential for increasing cattle productivity in the Legal Amazon. It finds that current livestock production is homogeneously low-productivity and extensive, meaning that simply disseminating existing local best practices would only yield modest gains. The authors argue that significant productivity increases require a new business model involving technologies not yet used at scale and a crackdown on land grabbing and illegal deforestation.

This research paper analyzes the relationship between agricultural land use and deforestation in the Tapajós basin of the Brazilian Amazon from 2002 to 2012. The author finds that an increase in the relative price of crops (specifically soy) compared to beef encourages the conversion of pasture to cropland, which in turn reduces local deforestation rates.

This executive summary evaluates the impact of Resolution 3.545, a 2008 Brazilian Central Bank policy that conditioned rural credit in the Amazon Biome on environmental compliance. The study finds that the policy significantly reduced rural credit and subsequently decreased deforestation, particularly in cattle-ranching areas.