GTFS: Global Trends and Future Scenarios Index

Dangerous Climate Change in Brazil

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The UK-Brazil collaborative project on climate change in the Amazon is a prime example of the importance of international cooperation in 21st century science. Launched in 2006, through the joint efforts of the Hadley Centre and INPE, the project has produced significant results. Its research points out the Amazon rain forest is sensitive to climate change forces. Increases in temperature and decreases in rainfall may be higher in Amazonia than the average expected global variation.

The report is divided into two sections: the first providing context to the work, and the second detailing new science carried out and looking forward to further policy and planning-relevant scientific developments.

Preface (excerpt)

The Dangerous Climate Change in Brazil project represents a very worthwhile example of successful collaboration between the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) from Brazil and the UK Met Office-Hadley Centre. Throughout this project, we were able to build capacity for state-of-the-art climate change projections, directed to raising awareness among key stakeholders (research scientists and policy makers) about the impacts of climate change in Brazil. The aim is to empower policy makers with scientific evidence of climate change and its possible impacts in Brazil, South America and elsewhere in the world. The experience of the UK Met Office Hadley Centre’s world leading in climate modeling, together with the experience of INPE in climate change studies on South America, have been combined in a way that allowed to identify possible climate change scenarios and impacts, making pioneering projections of the effects of anthropogenic climate change across South America. These early results indicated the likelihood of significant increases in drought conditions across parts of Brazil. Based on the new knowledge generated by this project, INPE has been developing efforts in South America to improve regional climate change scenarios, for applications in vulnerability and adaptation studies.

Carlos A. Nobre
National Secretary for R&D Policies
and Programs. Ministry of Science and
Technology of Brazil, MCT, Brasilia, Brazi