It was from academia that the idea of a forum to discuss how Brazil can become a hub of sustainable business opportunities emerged. Students and alumni of the prestigious Columbia University in New York (USA) – recognized for their studies in the climate area – decided to roll up their sleeves and organize two days of debate. The Brazil Climate Summit, which takes place on September 15 and 16, should have the presence of entrepreneurs, investors, entrepreneurs, opinion makers, representatives of civil society and institutions, among others. The idea is to know what already exists and raise new possibilities that can contribute to the country establishing itself as a great green player on the world stage.

"We talk a lot about deforestation, which is obviously a big problem in Brazil, but also, taking one of the phrases of Nizan Guanaes, which is one of the creators of the event, Brazil is bigger than its problems, and I have no doubt about it," says Luciana Antonini Ribeiro, co-founder of eB Capital and one of the summit's creators. According to her, the idea of holding the event outside the country is precisely to present Brazil to the world as this giant with various potentialities to collaborate with mitigation and adaptation measures against the climate crisis, in various areas.

Among the central discussions of the event are how and why Brazil can be a protagonist of sustainable development solutions, how different sectors are acting to leverage ideas that can be global opportunities, the importance of the performance of business leaders, investors and opinion makers in fostering these initiatives and the leverageand detractor aspects on the country's path.

"It's time to take the lead. We cannot, as a generation, pass up this window of opportunity to exercise our natural vocation, and we need to do this as a private sector, despite government," says Marina Cançado, co-CEO of the Future Carbon Group (FCG) and also the event's creator.

The summit will feature panels on the potential of the Brazilian carbon market, climate justice, the use of clean and renewable energies and the action of agribusiness that seeks to be more efficient, make use of biotechnology and promote traceability to be a protagonist in green solutions to the global food crisis.

On the first day, the summit will discuss how the world should be in 2030 from a perspective of decarbonization and how various sectors of Brazil can contribute in this sense. Cristina Castellan, who currently holds a master's degree from Columbia and is on the executive team of the event, stresses the relevance of us stopping importing foreign solutions to develop procedures more appropriate to the Brazilian reality.

"I think that in this agenda we have an opportunity to be a relevant player and export solutions, not only import solutions. Want country better positioned in scale size and solutions than Brazil? I find it very difficult," he says. The subject should permeate the panel "Brazil's leading role as a hub for solutions to climate change", with Natalie Unterstell, president of the Talanoa Institute and member of the Green Climate Fund, Bruce Usher, professor at Columbia University, and Luciana Antonini Ribeiro.

The day will also feature debates on the carbon market, with the participation of Fabio Galindo, co-CEO of Future Carbon, Plinio Ribeiro, co-founder and CEO of Biofílica Ambipar, Bruno Aranha, director of Productive and Socioenvironmental Credit at BNDES, and Marina Cançado, who says that those who work in this environment already see the negative effects of Brazil still not being seen as a consistent player in the green agenda. "Several countries in the world prefer to buy carbon credit from India rather than from us, which is the Amazon's carbon credit, helping to preserve and contain deforestation, precisely because of Brazil's image," she says.

The agro panel has names such as Flavio Zaclis, founder of Barn Investimentos, Felipe Villela, co-founder of Renature, Marina Caetano, partner of Santos Lab, and Roberto Waack, chairman of the board of the Arapyaú Institute. To talk about clean energy, the summit convened Pedro Parente, who is chairman of the Board of Directors of EB Capital, Rogério Pereira Jorge, vice president of AES Brazil, André Clark, senior vice president of Siemens, Paula Kovarsky, Vice President of Strategy and Sustainability at Raízen, and Luisa Palacios, researcher at Columbia.

At the end of the event, BCG (Boston Consulting Group) should issue a report on the Brazilian conclusions and opportunities in the transition to a low-carbon economy. "It is a very deep document that has been built by BCG with us for a long time and that will bring this look of a Brazil that has opportunities, that has sustainable business es and that can enable these sustainable businesses for the world," says Luciana Antonini Ribeiro.

According to her, one of the objectives of the group is that this is the beginning of a movement, which will echo in new debates, exchanges and opportunities in the coming years. "There is collectively this perception that we have a golden opportunity, let's not waste it. And for us not to waste, we need to act in the collective, it is no use each, every company or each sector pull the coals for its roast, pull the blanket. We collectively, as Brazil, need to position Brazil as a solution provider," he says.

The board of the summit also has names such as presenter and entrepreneur Luciano Huck, Ronaldo Lemos (SIPA / Columbia), Thomas Trebat (Columbia), Roberto Martini (FlagCX), Diana Nasser (Macro Factoring and Mercantile Development) and Arthur Ramos (BCG Global). The Brazil Climate Summit is an invite-only event, but will be broadcast online. Full programming is available on the www.brazilclimatesummit.com.

Source: Um só Planeta