Governors for Climate - Agreement Letter

Brazilian states that already signed the document (Updated Nov 26th 2020):

• Amapá

• Distrito Federal

• Espírito Santo

• Maranhão

• Piauí

• Pernambuco

• Pará

• Rio Grande do Norte

• Rio Grande do Sul

• São Paulo

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The scientific community, represented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has been urging for decades about the risks derived from global warming. The severe outcomes correlated with it are already indisputable in the natural, social and economic spheres. The seriousness and complexity of the hazards represented by climate change command that governments, the business sector, and civil society anticipate the foreseen impacts. The sacrifices associated with climatic issues will be considerably costlier and more prevalent than those of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The socioeconomic consequences of the current health crisis are and will continue to be relentless. These effects will likely increase poverty levels, deepening inequalities, and exposing the most vulnerable part of the population to many adverse predicaments. Overcoming this crisis requires a strategic confluence of efforts to empower a sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous future for current and future generations. The essential economic rehabilitation must be driven by joint methods that can concurrently restore ecosystems, strengthen companies, and generate millions of jobs. It is also crucial to contemplate investment opportunities in renewable energy, reforestation, sanitation, recycling, bioeconomics, and innovations towards more efficient public and private resources.

In addition to the pandemic's socioeconomic pressures, a substantial portion of the difficulties related to preventing and adapting to climate impacts fall on the states. Implementing precautionary and constructive plans is the way to work smarter and at a lower cost.

Therefore, articulated and purposeful actions, integrating the Brazilian subnational levels of governments, are imperative to accomplish these aspirations and the goals of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of Brazil, established in the Paris Agreement. Such advancements will only be achieved with energetic actions against deforestation and illegal fires, the promotion of clean energy, the reduction of fossil fuel burning, the expansion in the use of biofuels, the electrification of mobility, and the encouragement of low carbon agriculture, among others.

Considering such urgencies and opportunities, the Brazilian governors who sign this vital letter establish the Governors Climate Alliance, in sync with other similar initiatives throughout the continents. We will be a nonpartisan coalition combining ideas, capabilities, and knowledge to confront this potent threat. With a commitment to continued action, the signatory Governors will appoint executive representatives to fortify the alliance's institutionality and develop a national and international strategic plan.

By reemphasizing the Paris Agreement, the Governors for Climate Alliance will engage with the international community. We are adamant about being part of the general effort to keep global warming well below two degrees Celsius, while also accelerating the shift to a clean and inclusive economy that will serve our security, success, and collective well-being.

Brazil, October 2020.