Sustainable Development Can Cut Greenhouse Gases

Most developing countries, including the three biggest emitters — Brazil, China and India — have said that they cannot sacrifice their social and economic development goals in order to reduce their emissions. But the WRI believes that development targets such as energy security, providing electricity to entire populations, and improving urban transportation can go hand-in-hand with a cleaner atmosphere.

Although Brazil’s biofuel policy was not initially created to reduce climate change, the report estimates that the country not only saved US$100 billion on its oil imports, but also reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by about 574 million tonnes since 1975 — equivalent to ten per cent of the country’s emissions during that period.

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