Search Climate Insights Directory

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes the characteristics of rural credit in the Brazilian Cerrado biome. It highlights a significant concentration of financial flows toward large producers and the expansion of soybean production, contrasting this with limited credit access for small and medium-sized family farmers. The study also notes a growing trend of private financing sources, although public banks continue to dominate the distribution of credit.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes the rural credit market in the Brazilian Cerrado biome, highlighting a significant concentration of financial flows toward large-scale producers and soy production, contrasted with limited credit access for small and medium-sized family farmers.

This 2021 report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) provides a comprehensive analysis of the implementation of the Brazilian Forest Code (Law No. 12.651/2012) across Brazilian states. It focuses on the progress of the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA), identifying significant bottlenecks in the analysis and validation of registries and the low rate of producer adherence to regularization programs. The report highlights disparities between states, noting that while registration is advanced nationwide, the transition to actual environmental recovery remains a major challenge.

This executive summary provides a 2021 snapshot of the implementation of Brazil's Native Vegetation Protection Law (Forest Code), specifically focusing on the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Compliance Program (PRA). While property registration is well-advanced nationwide, the report identifies significant bottlenecks in the analysis and validation of these registrations and a lack of producer interest in joining the PRA, leaving the final stage of environmental regularization as a major challenge across most states.

The report evaluates agricultural risk management in Brazil, finding that while the insurance market has grown, it remains highly concentrated and underfunded compared to rural credit. It highlights that nearly 60% of municipalities lack insurance and suggests redirecting public funds from credit to insurance and expanding the use of Agricultural Climate Risk Zoning (ZARC) to improve productivity and land use.

This 2020 report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) analyzes the implementation of the Brazilian Forest Code (Law No. 12.651/2012) across Brazilian states, focusing on the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA). It identifies significant disparities in progress, noting that while CAR registration is widespread, the analysis and validation phase remains a critical bottleneck. The report details state-level regulations for restoring Permanent Preservation Areas (APP) and Legal Reserves (RL), the role of the Brazilian Forest Service (SFB) in providing technological infrastructure, and the legal uncertainties surrounding the potential implementation of a Federal PRA.

This report by Friends of the Earth International analyzes the 2019 Amazon rainforest fires as a result of corporate power and the expansion of the agricultural frontier. It argues that the MercoSur-European Union Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will accelerate deforestation, violate the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and reinforce Brazil's neo-colonial dependence by prioritizing the profits of transnational corporations over environmental and human rights.

This report by Friends of the Earth International argues that the destruction of the Amazon, specifically the 2019 fires, is a result of corporate power and the expansion of the agricultural frontier. It contends that the Free Trade Agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (EU) will accelerate this process by increasing demand for raw materials, facilitating land appropriation, and strengthening a 'corporate impunity' architecture that protects transnational companies while violating the rights of indigenous and traditional peoples.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) analyzes the implementation of the Brazilian Forest Code (Law 12.651/2012) across Brazilian states, focusing on the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA). It evaluates state-level regulations, the progress of CAR validation, and the operational status of PRAs, highlighting significant regional disparities in progress and the technical challenges facing state environmental agencies.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) analyzes the historical evolution, current structure, and systemic challenges of rural property rights in Brazil. It highlights how a legacy of disordered land occupation and a fragmented institutional framework have led to widespread land insecurity, social conflict, and environmental degradation. The document provides a detailed mapping of land categories, evaluates current government regularization programs, and offers policy recommendations to improve governance, law enforcement, and the integration of land registries.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes the historical evolution and current state of rural land rights in Brazil. It identifies systemic insecurities caused by complex legislation, fragmented governance, and a lack of unified land registries, which contribute to land conflicts, deforestation, and inefficient land use. The document provides a framework for improvement focusing on governance, enforcement, regulation, and knowledge, while evaluating specific initiatives like the Terra Legal Program and the SIG-Fundiário system.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) argues that increasing agricultural productivity in Brazil is a viable strategy for mitigating climate change and reducing deforestation. By analyzing four historical drivers of productivity, the document demonstrates that technological innovation and policy improvements can shift agricultural expansion away from forests and toward underutilized pasture lands.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) argues that Brazil can increase agricultural production without increasing deforestation by improving the productivity of already cleared lands, particularly by transitioning underused cattle pastures to crop production.

This report by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes land use efficiency in Brazil, arguing that agricultural productivity can be increased and greenhouse gas emissions reduced without further deforestation. It highlights the potential of converting degraded pasturelands into croplands and examines successful historical examples of land use change, such as the soybean revolution and the implementation of the PPCDAm to combat Amazon deforestation. The document identifies key barriers to efficiency, including poor infrastructure, insecure land rights, and the need for better technology dissemination, while emphasizing the importance of enforcing the Brazilian Forest Code on private lands.

This report by Friends of the Earth International criticizes the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for financing large-scale, export-oriented agrofuel projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. The document argues that these projects exacerbate social and environmental inequities, threaten biodiversity, and may increase greenhouse gas emissions due to land-use changes, rather than serving as a viable climate solution.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative describes the compliance process for rural landholders under Brazil's 2012 Forest Code. It details the steps for registering properties in the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR), the distinctions between large and small properties, and the special regime for areas deforested before July 22, 2008. The document highlights significant implementation barriers, including a lack of state-level legislation for the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA), legal uncertainties, and the technical and financial burdens placed on individual landowners.

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative and PUC-Rio describes the environmental regularization process for rural properties under Brazil's 2012 Forest Code. It details the steps for compliance, including the Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) and the Environmental Regularization Program (PRA), while highlighting significant legal, financial, and administrative barriers that hinder implementation across different states.

This report examines the environmental impacts of land use change (LUC) in the La Plata Basin, with a specific focus on the Brazilian Cerrado. It analyzes how the expansion of international commodities, forestry, cattle ranching, and biofuel crops—particularly sugarcane—affects soil carbon stocks and overall soil quality. The document highlights the role of agricultural technology in enabling this expansion and evaluates different management practices, such as no-tillage and the elimination of pre-harvest burning, to mitigate carbon loss and soil degradation.