The Executive Secretary of ICLEI South America, Rodrigo Perpétuo, and the Secretary of Environment and Sustainability of Pernambuco (Semas PE), José Bertotti, signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement on Thursday morning (17th) during the I National Meeting of ICLEI Brazil, at the Handicraft Centre. Through the partnership, ICLEI will support Semas PE in engaging and training municipalities in the state for the development of local climate agendas within the scope of the “Pernambuco in Climate: Strengthening Capacities for Local Climate Action” project.

For Perpétuo, the Agreement symbolises the necessary coordination between different levels of government to accelerate the climate agenda. “The Inventory of the State of Pernambuco contains disaggregated data for each of the municipalities. Through the partnership, ICLEI is honoured to be able to help these municipalities appropriate this data for the implementation of actions that complement those of the State and are linked to the reality of each territory.”

On the occasion, Bertotti thanked them for the partnership with ICLEI and the opportunity to strengthen municipalities in decarbonisation actions and presented the Pernambuco Decarbonisation Plan. The document, strategic for tackling the climate crisis, was launched at the opening of the I International Conference on Solid Waste and the I National Meeting of ICLEI Brazil. Bertotti highlighted work towards the elimination of dumpsites in municipalities in Pernambuco and said that the government's goal is to eliminate these liabilities, which emit greenhouse gases and worsen the climate crisis.

“We are working with what has already been done and with what needs to move forward. The Pernambuco Decarbonisation Plan brings 46 technological solutions, which present the possibilities for development and value aggregation for our economy. These solutions will be developed in Pernambuco by our universities and research institutes, and there may also be partnerships with other Brazilian and even European universities,” explained Bertotti.

The secretary also detailed the actions implemented by the state government towards a more sustainable and fair economy for the entire population. “The ideas we discuss here at ICLEI are very important, but these ideas need to be put into practice. Therefore, I am grateful that we have the support of Governor Paulo Câmara,” concluded Bertotti.

Also participating in the session “Carbon Neutrality in Latin America: The Case of Pernambuco,” which was moderated by Inamara Mélo, the Executive Secretary of Semas, were Geraldo Júlio, Secretary of Economic Development of the State of Pernambuco, President of the Regional Executive Committee, and Special Envoy of ICLEI for Latin America; Stephanie Horel, Programme Manager at the Delegation of the European Union to Brazil; and Melanie Hopkins, Deputy Ambassador of the United Kingdom in Recife.

Climate mitigation

In the second part of the session, greenhouse gas mitigation experiences and best practices were presented by representatives of state and municipal governments. In addition to examples from Pernambuco, attendees were able to learn about experiences from the States of São Paulo, Bahia, Santa Catarina, Minas Gerais, and the municipalities of Porto Alegre, João Pessoa, and Brejo da Madre de Deus.

Andreia Banhe, Manager of States and Regions at CDP; Samanta Della Bella, Superintendent of Sustainability and Climate at SEMAS PE; Márcia Telles, Secretary of the Environment of Bahia; and Renata Araújo, Chief of Staff, participated as speakers. State Environmental Foundation de Minas Gerais; Rovana Bortolini, Director of Sustainability Projects and Policies for Porto Alegre; Welison de Araújo, Secretary of Environment for João Pessoa; Leonardo Porto Ferreira, Executive Secretary for the Environment of Santa Catarina; Eduardo Trani, Undersecretary for the Environment at the Secretariat of Infrastructure and Environment of the State of São Paulo; and Roberto Asfora, Mayor of Brejo da Madre de Deus.