Brazil president announces carbon market, thin on details

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro has signed a decree that he says will create a national carbon market to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Brazil ranks sixth in the world for climate pollution, according to Climate Watch .

“In this still new green economy market, Brazil emerges as a powerhouse,” Bolsonaro said to a crowd of businesspeople during a government-sponsored Global Carbon Market Congress Thursday night in Rio de Janeiro that was webcast but closed to the press.

But critics say the measure is too vague and fails to address the biggest climate issue in Brazil — explosive deforestation in the Amazon rainforest.

Bolsonaro's decree states that unnamed economic sectors can register their carbon footprints in a new registry and then present an emission reduction curve within 180 days. This deadline can be extended for another 180 days.

“The measure is ineffectual. It establishes a registry system but fails to set deadlines," said Gustavo Pinheiro, an advisory board member at Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. "It is a voluntary regulation, as it does not generate any obligation.”

Bolsonaro's announcement also sidesteps a different carbon market proposal backed by some of Brazil's industries that had been making its way through Congress.

In an actual cap and trade market system, governments set a maximum amount of pollution that companies can release. Companies that beat their target generate credits they can sell. Companies that fail their targets have to pay money to buy credits or allowances. In a voluntary market, companies agree to lower their pollution without being forced to and commit to purchase credits if they fail.

Almost half of Brazil's climate pollution comes from deforestation, according to an annual study from...