Public banks pledge BRL 4.5 Billion green credit for Amazon

During the Amazon Summit in Belém, state of Pará, on Monday (Aug. 7), nineteen public development banks from Amazonian countries signed an agreement to provide BRL 4.5 billion in financing for environmentally sustainable businesses in the region.

The National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) signed a letter of intent launching the Green Coalition, with the aim of implementing the Credit Access Program for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and Small Entrepreneurs (Pró-Amazônia). BNDES head Aloizio Mercadante said the partnership brought together 19 public banks from across the Amazon basin.

According to Mercadante, its goal is to provide credit more committed to "generating jobs, income, and alternatives for a sustainable, creative, innovation economy that protects the forest." To achieve this, it is necessary to generate research and products that develop bioeconomy.

During the signing ceremony of the agreement, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, urged against investments that jeopardize ecosystem services - Audiovisual/PR

Before the credit becomes available, the program requires approval from the Foreign Financing Commission (Cofiex) and the Federal Senate. Brazil's Planning Minister Simone Tebet assured that the process would be swift and transparent.

"The transparency portal for these projects will be available by the end of September, if not earlier, by the beginning of October. This portal will allow access to any citizen, the press, and civil society," assured the minister. She highlighted that one of the objectives is to bridge the gap between environment and development. "Our commitment is to ensure sustainable development," she concluded.

During the signing ceremony of the agreement, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Marina Silva, emphasized the challenges in altering the development model, stating that the task "is not easy." She urged against investments that jeopardize ecosystem services, highlighting the importance of environmental preservation.

"We must reduce deforestation through sustainable development actions, rather than relying solely on command-and-control measures like police operations," asserted Silva. She emphasized that the Amazon can accommodate various activities, including sustainable agribusiness, tourism, extractivism, indigenous initiatives, and the bioeconomy.