Alckmin: Brazil competitive giant in “neo‑industrialization”
Brazil’s acting President Geraldo Alckmin said Tuesday (Aug. 15) that the current international landscape makes Brazil “the great alternative” for a market that increasingly values environmentally appropriate products.
During the conference Powershoring and the Green Neo-industrialization of Brazil – Outlooks, Potential, and Public and Private Policies, organized by the National Industry Confederation (CNI) in Brasília, Alckmin listed competitive advantages enjoyed by the country, which, he noted, already ranks fifth when it comes to drawing direct investment.
The environmental issue—and the awareness, especially on the part of rich countries, of its harmful effects on the climate—will bring hitherto unprecedented advantages for Brazil and other countries with forests in their geographic space, he said.
“The question was always, ‘Where can I manufacture well and on the cheap?’ Now it’s ‘Where can I manufacture well, on the cheap, and offset carbon emissions?’ That’s where Brazil comes in as the great alternative. We’ll have a great opportunity. We’re already the world’s fifth in attracting direct investment, and this can grow enormously. That’s what neo-industrialization is: green innovation,” he declared.
Bio-tech
According to Alckmin, the Amazon Biotechnology Center (CBA), which has been working on research and creating new products with raw materials from the Amazon for 21 years, should play a key role in this connection. Among the products focused at CBA are food, beverages, medicines, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. It also provides training to residents of traditional communities.
“We have a new model and management contract with CBA to take another step toward turning Amazon biodiversity into jobs and income—initiatives with patents, business, and products,” he added.
Alckmin recalled that the world currently depends mainly on three tropical forests—in Brazil, Congo, and Indonesia. “The Amazon rainforest is by far the largest and most important,” he argued.
The government, he went on to say, has worked to continue to grant land titles and tackle deforestation.
