Brazil is a major emerging economy, but nevertheless faces major challenges in realising its enormous potential. Latin America’s largest and most populous country is one of the most important economies in the world and has the greatest biodiversity, huge tropical forests and – with the Amazon – the world’s largest river in terms of water flow. Due to its key role in climate action and global economic development, Brazil is one of the eight global partners of German development cooperation.
Brazil has a high energy demand due to its enormous economic progress. To ensure global climate protection, energy has to be generated sustainably and used as efficiently as possible. Energy consumption is largely located in the country’s growing cities, where almost 90% of the population now lives. However, Brazilian cities are not only big emitters of greenhouse gases, but due to the population and infrastructure density in the tightest of spaces, they are also the ones most affected by the effects of climate change. At the same time, the conservation of tropical forests and natural resources is a key challenge, as the progressive deforestation continues to be a cause for concern. Over 60% of Brazil’s current greenhouse gas emissions are caused by extensive agriculture, deforestation and forest fires. On behalf of the German Federal Government, KfW is supporting Brazil in protecting tropical forests, climate-friendly power generation and use, along with sustainable urban development.
