New president elected in Brazil – what are the implications for the environment?

Good morning,

On Sunday, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was elected as the president of Brazil by a razor-thin margin of 50,9-49,1. The new president will start at the beginning of 2023. What are the environmental impacts of Brazil's presidential election?

Deforestation in Amazonia surged rapidly due to increased mining and cattle farming after the election of the retiring president Jair Bolsonaro. Also, the number of reported invasions, illegal exploitation of resources, and damage to property on Indigenous territories increased vastly under Bolsonaro's climate contrarian administration.

The newly-elected president Lula has promised to protect the Amazonia with increased supervision and restrictions on logging. He has also pledged Brazil to rejoin the Paris climate pact.

In his campaign, Lula has been well aware of the global interest in rainforest protection. According to Georg Wink, the head of the Latin American Studies Center at the University of Copenhagen, despite a strong emphasis on protecting Amazonia, Brazil's industrial growth is also a key goal in Lula's policy. It remains to be seen whether the growth-oriented policy will happen at the cost of the country's less famous natural areas. While his election is good news for Amazonia, this may not be the case for all of nature in Brazil, Wink states.

Let's jump into this week's major headlines.

EU's Carbon Allowance (ETS) price development

UK's Carbon Allowance (ETS) price development

Major News Roundup

Reuters | U.N.: Every fraction of a degree counts, as 2.8°C warming looms. According to the United Nations report, the current government pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions put the planet on track for an average 2.8 degrees Celsius temperature rise this century. The report states that government pledges are "woefully inadequate" to limit warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Aljazeera | Death toll at 110 as Tropical Storm Nalgae drenches Philippines. Maguindanao province in the south of the country has been hardest hit by rain-induced floods and mudslides.

Bloomberg | OPEC: World cannot live without oil as demand will keep rising. The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries held firm to projections that global oil demand will keep growing for another decade and said it would be dangerous to abandon fossil fuels.

• HS | Oil companies make record-breaking profits in the midst of the energy crisis. Exxon, Chevron and other large oil companies have published their best interim reviews in the past quarter.

HS | IEA: emissions to reach their peak in 2025. International Energy Agency believes that extensive investments toward renewables accelerates the transition into "more sustainable and safe energy system".

HS | The EU Council and European parliament reached a consensus on car CO2 restrictions. The decision aims for 100 % emission-free new vehicles in the EU internal market by 2035. The goal consists of two interim steps in 2025 and 2030.

Reuters | U.N. climate summit Cop27 starts next week in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. More than 30,000 delegates, including representatives from some 200 countries will gather to discuss the future of fossil fuels, climate change adaptation, and the role of international financial institutions, among other topics. 

Latest environmental news from Finland

HS | EU Nature restoration law received discordantly in the Finnish government. The opposition and Center Party have raised concerns over the EU exceeding its authority with the restoration and its costs. The Finnish government had given an approving stance on the initiative in September; the opposition submitted an interpellation for the government last Thursday. 

HS | Carbon neutrality by 2035 can be achieved barely with the current measures in Finland. The key instruments to achieve carbon neutrality in Finland include carbon sink, climate policy, and SSAB investment towards fossil-free steel production.

Maaseudun tulevaisuus | Carbon neutrality goals differ regionally in Finland. Joensuu, Helsinki, and Lahti aim to be carbon neutral before the Finnish national target in 2035. The city of Lahti is closest to its target, as it aims for carbon neutrality by 2025. Helsinki is furthest from its carbon neutrality goal, set in 2030.

Yle | Finnish emissions rise as forests' carbon storage has surged. Reducing emissions is becoming harder in Finland because forests and soil have become net emitters instead of net sinks of carbon for the first time on record. Extensive logging and decelerated growth in forest biomass have led to this trend.

HS | Dozens of buried waste barrels found in Nurmijärvi. The barrels containing oil and other chemicals were found in Karhunkorpi industrial area; the property owner has requested the police for an investigation.

Climate Pledges and action

HS | US to make several hundred million dollar investments in climate engineering research. Climate engineering refers to artificial large-scale interventions in the Earth’s climate system to counter climate change. It includes techniques to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and technologies to cool the Earth by reflecting solar energy to space. 

Reuters | Australian regulator slaps first 'greenwashing' fine on energy firm. The Australian Securities and Investment Commission had imposed a fine on Tlou Energy for exaggerated claims regarding environmentally friendly investments, making it the regulator's first time to crack down on such misconduct. 

Reuters | Climate Investment Funds (CIF) earmarks $1 bln for clean power move in South Africa and Indonesia. CIF, a leading multilateral investor in developing countries, said it will allocate $1 billion to help the countries move away from coal to clean power.

The Guardian | Marks & Spencer to hire out clothes to cost-conscious shoppers. Capsule wardrobes of 10 different outfits for up to a month will be hired out, as the clothing brand promises a more environmentally friendly and economical way for shoppers to regularly change their look. 

Latest from the academics on environment, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration

Autonomy | Study: enormous emissions gap between top 1% and poorest. The 'polluting elite' is responsible for the same amount of CO2 in a year as the poorest 10 % are in 26 years, according to Autonomy think tank study. (The Guradian)

Penn State | 'Forever chemicals' persist through wastewater treatment, possibly entering crops. PFAS (per and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) is a group of more than 4700 fully synthetic compounds widely used in industrial and manufacturing processes and found in many consumer products. The recent study suggests that PFAS persist through wastewater treatment at levels that may impact the long-term feasibility of "beneficial reuse of treated wastewater". The study was published in the Agronomy Journal.

High-temperature nuclear fusion sustained at the KSTAR fusion reactor in South Korea. The reactor generated plasmas at a temperature of 100 million kelvin lasting up to 20 seconds. In previous experiments, reactors have generated either higher temperatures or longer-lasting nuclear fusions but not both simultaneously. For commercial electricity generation, a much longer-lasting reaction would be needed. The study was published in the Nature Journal. (HS)

Climate crisis study finds heatwaves have already cost the global economy $16tn. The research published in the journal Science Advances, calculates the financial impact of extreme heat on infrastructure, agriculture, productivity, human health, and other areas. (The Guardian)

Open sustainability positions

Picture of the week: Winning photograph in this year's Mangrove Photography Awards by Tanya Houppermans

References: New president elected in Brazil – what are the implications for rainforests and the environment?

• Tutkija Lulan voitosta: "Amazonille erittäin hyvä uutinen, mutta ei koko Brasilian ympäristölle" – HS

• Lula voitto Bolsonaron ja palaa valtaan Brasiliassa – HS 

• Lula victory spurs hope for Amazon, fight against climate crisis – Aljazeera 

• Bolsonaron ja Lulan kaksintaistelu on Amazonin sademetsän kohtalonhetki – HS