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Climate, environment and human security in Brazil: Response landscape and leadership opportunities

Climate, environment and human security in Brazil: Response landscape and leadership opportunities

Brazil is navigating a complex landscape shaped by the ongoing impacts of climate change and environmental degradation, with significant long-term implications for human security and sustainable development. As guardian of globally vital ecosystems, Brazil’s environmental challenges are central to regional and international debates—yet the ways in which these challenges intersect with social vulnerabilities often go overlooked. This report addresses that gap, examining how climate and environmental pressures intensify poverty, hunger, and human insecurity through complex, reinforcing pathways.

Building on Brazil’s legacy of multilateral leadership and environmental diplomacy, the analysis highlights practical entry points within an expansive landscape of national policies, institutions, and multilateral mechanisms to foster sustainable, resilient, and inclusive solutions—leveraging national policies, institutions, and international cooperation. 

By reviewing Brazil’s socioeconomic and political landscape, the report underscores the country’s pivotal role in forging innovative responses to climate and development challenges, both at home and abroad. It also reflects on the domestic realities and historical experiences that inform Brazil’s approach to linking climate, environment, and human security on the global stage. 

Current discussions about climate and environmental risks to human security often look at nations as either contributing the most to climate change (higher income countries) or being affected the most by its impacts (lower income countries). Brazil challenges this notion because it combines substantial wealth and emissions (primarily from land use change) with extensive vulnerability linked to widespread inequality and human insecurity. This demonstrates that there is a need for these discussions on the international level to be inclusive of such complex socioeconomic dynamics, as they present unique entry-points for action. For Brazil, this translates into a combination of need for international support, however with increased implementation capacities.

Pathways of climate and environmental risk to human security in Brazil 

Central to the report is an analysis of five key pathways through which climate change and environmental degradation intersect with human security in Brazil, with direct and indirect impacts on food security and development: 

Pathways of climate and environmental risks to human security in Brazil

 

The report also outlines key challenges and offers recommendations to Brazilian policymakers and international actors. By adopting the recommendations outlined in this brief, Brazilian policymakers and international stakeholders can address these challenges holistically, promoting climate resilience, sustainable development, protecting vulnerable populations, and enhancing Brazil’s role as a global leader in climate action. The time to act is now, as the decisions made today will shape the future of Brazil’s ecosystems, economy, and society for generations to come.

Download the report

Download the executive summary

 

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