Mercadante proposes the creation of an international fund for climate emergencies during an event at the European Parliament.

247 - The president of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES), Aloizio Mercadante, proposed this Wednesday, October 15th, the creation of an international solidarity fund focused on climate emergencies. The statement was made during the S&D Latin America DaysThe information comes from BNDES itself, as reported in the European Parliament in Brussels.

In his speech, Mercadante highlighted the need for a coordinated global response to the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. "We need to move forward with an agenda regarding extreme events, which are becoming increasingly intense and frequent. We need to create a fund for emergencies, for fires, for floods, for climate catastrophes that will become more intense and frequent.", he said.

The event was attended by the President of Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi, and the President of the S&D Group in the European Parliament, Iratxe García Pérez from Spain. Addressing the audience, Mercadante cited the recent climate disasters in Brazil as an example of the urgency of this agenda. “We experienced wildfires and heat waves. In Brazil, there were unprecedented floods. In the south of the country, 400 cities were underwater. If that had happened, perhaps in Paraguay, I don't know if the country would have recovered or how long it would have taken to recover.”, reported.

According to him, the Brazilian government has already allocated approximately US $ 20 billion for reconstruction efforts, of which over US$5 billion The funds were provided by BNDES. The director emphasized that the bank has been investing consistently in... climate resilience and clean and renewable energy. "According to Bloomberg, BNDES is the bank that has financed the most clean and renewable energy in history.", highlighted.

Green commitment and COP30

Mercadante emphasized that BNDES has the greenest balance sheet in the national financial system, a result of the institution's commitment to sustainability. When mentioning the next UN Climate Conference (COP30)at the event to be held in Belém, the bank's president defended the significant presence of the European Union In the event.

He highlighted the strategic role of reforestation in the ecological transition: “The oldest, cheapest, and most efficient way to decarbonize the planet is to plant trees. We are funding the planting of 73 million trees today, which is almost US$800 million.”, he said. Mercadante also thanked the European Union support for the Amazon Fund He advocated for strengthening the instrument as a pillar of international cooperation.

“We have a great opportunity to get down to business at COP30. To discuss agreements, commitments and resources.”, completed.

Integration and multilateralism

When discussing trade policy, Mercadante criticized the unilateral actions in international trade, especially those adopted by the United States, and defended the promoting multilateralism as a response to global crises. "The best response to the crisis of multilateralism is more multilateralism. It means more partnership, more cooperation, and more mechanisms for negotiating trade disputes.", he said.

The president of BNDES also highlighted the importance of To deepen trade relations between the European Union and Latin America., defending the conclusion of Mercosur-European Union agreement, scheduled for December. "This agreement is very important for us to go beyond trade. The European Union needs to see itself again as a civilizational reference point on the planet.""he said.