Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
06/09/2017
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
Inventory reveals that state distances itself from plan to combat climate change
BY RENATO GRANDELLE 06/09/2017 4:30
RIO - The emission of greenhouse gases in the state of Rio increased 40% in ten years, according to an inventory released yesterday by the Climate Center, coordinated by Coppe-UFRJ. The survey, which considered the release of pollutants between 2005 and 2015, reveals the difficulty of economic sectors such as energy production and river basin recovery in following projects that require a drastic reduction of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
Energy consumption almost doubled - from 38,900 to 70,2 thousand gigagrams of CO2 (each gigagram equals one thousand tons), especially in the public, commercial, transportation and industry sectors. For the researchers, the multiplication of the value can be explained by the water crisis that occurred in 2015. Due to the lack of rainfall and the low yield of hydroelectric plants, thermoelectric plants, which are a source of more polluting energy, had to be activated. The industrial sector, in turn, was impacted by the inauguration in the state of Companhia Siderúrgica do Atlântico in 2010.
- There is still no technology to produce low-carbon steel, says Emilio La Rovere, coordinator of the Emissions Inventory of Greenhouse Gases and professor of Energy Planning at Coppe-UFRJ. - Even so, the steelmaker has achieved good results because its average release of pollutants is lower than in the Chinese industries.
AWAY FROM GOALS
A decree of September 2011 instituted the State Policy on Global Climate Change and Sustainable Development, which provides commitments for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. For now, the industry still does not have established goals. Other sectors, however, already have an established calculation, and are increasingly far from obeying it.
According to state policy, by 2030 the transport sector should limit its emissions to 10.91 gigagrams of CO2. By 2015, however, the release of pollutants exceeds the 15-gigag mark of CO2. The Achilles heel to reach the milestone is in the Metropolitan Region, where more than 12 million people move.
Emilio points out that state projects have difficulty controlling the increase in transport pollution.
- Emissions from the sector parked between 2010 and 2015, but it is difficult to lower them because the price of gasoline has decreased and there is no incentive to adopt ethanol. The government should promote this initiative - it claims. - This can be reversed with a policy of encouraging renewable fuels, whose emission level is much lower.
Technical coordinator of the study and researcher at the Coppe-UFRJ Climate Center, Carolina Dubeux underlines another factor that can reduce the presence of pollutants in transportation:
- The peak of emissions in the industry occurred because we were in a phase of economic growth. With the crisis, demand fell, especially for individual transport, such as automobiles.
Energy consumption in the public sector should be limited to 203.11 gigatonnes of CO2 by 2030. However, the survey points out that in 2015, the sector's greenhouse gas release was 694.82 gigatonnes.
The restriction on urban sewage is also far from the target - by 2015, it was responsible for the emission of 79.24 gigatonnes of CO2. By 2030, it needs to be restricted to 23.78 gigatonnes. Carolina, however, believes the goals are still viable.
- The cost of wind and solar energy decreases every year. Therefore, it will be increasingly requested - evaluates. - The renewal of the fleet and the demand for electric vehicles will contribute to the cut of pollutants in the transport sector. As for sewage, it is an institutional imbroglio. It is inevitable that the authorities will elaborate policies for the sanitation of the lagoons of Barra da Tijuca and Guanabara Bay. Open sewage causes disease, affects the well-being of the population, causes damage to tourism. It is not just an environmental problem.
ADVANCE IN SANITARY LANDFILL
The inventory, however, also brought good news. The release of urban solid waste fell from 378 to 186 gigatonnes of CO2 between 2010 and 2015. It is on the way to be restricted to 112 gigatons by 2030.
- This is the result of the national solid waste policy, a major government action to end the dumps - explains Carolina. - Fluminense landfills are burning methane and using it for energy production. It is a health policy that has also had a positive climate impact.
"We already have successful projects for landfills. Now, there is still a need to work the sewage - analyzes Emilio, who admits the possibility of revising the commitments of state policy, embracing less ambitious commitments. - Goals are not written on a stone. If necessary, they can be reviewed. We need to check the current conjecture and trends to then draw the future, to know what our focus will be. It depends on our financial conditions and political will. It is a constant charge to governments, companies and academia.
Nine garbage dumps have been closed in recent years - there are still 18. In some, such as São Gonçalo, technicians from the State Department of Environment run into safety problems because they are areas dominated by traffickers and militiamen.
André Corrêa, who is at the head of the portfolio, celebrates the progress of the fight against deforestation. The government estimates that it would need $ 8 billion to implement tree planting policies. Given the lack of resources, it was necessary to choose priorities.
"Let's focus on areas that directly interfere with the state's water supply," he announces. - The region of Rio das Flores, for example, will win 60,000 seedlings. And we will also try to recover places like Rio Carioca, whose source is in the Tijuca National Park.
According to a recent survey, the state still preserves 30% of the forest cover of Atlantic Forest. Now, satellite analysis, which detected only deforestation areas of more than 3 hectares, is more sophisticated and can check tree sections in regions of only 1 hectare. Corrêa admits that technology brings a new challenge - combating the devastation of small regions is more complex.
Read more: https://oglobo.globo.com/society/emissao-de-poluentes-no-rio-aumenta-40-em-dez-anos-21454181#ixzz4jW6dL0bi
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Source: The Globe
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This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.