PRESS RELEASE : Climate top of agenda in Energy Secretary’s first visit to Brazil [August 2024]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 22 August 2024.

Ed Miliband worked on strengthening the UK’s bonds with Brazil on climate focused agenda ahead of Brazil’s presidency of G20 this year and COP30 in 2025.

Climate leadership is essential if we are to protect both the UK and global citizens from the climate crisis, the Energy Secretary highlighted during his first international visit to Brazil – a key ally in driving forward the global clean energy transition.

Ahead of taking personal control of the UK’s climate negotiations later this year, Miliband has met key figures from the Brazilian Government to position the UK as a trusted partner to help deliver an ambitious G20 Presidency and COP30.

On his first day in the country (Sunday 18 August), he saw how the Amazon Fund is supporting the Quilombola in Abaetetuba. In 2023, the UK committed to providing £115 million to the Fund, which as part of its work helps develop economic alternatives and sustainable production practices for small farms and indigenous peoples, who are the best stewards of the forests.

On Monday 19 August, he visited Pecem Port – a huge industrial complex which has recently received $35 million to scale up its green hydrogen production via UK-backed Climate Investment Funds.

The Energy Secretary also set out his ambitions to tackle the climate and nature crisis in a series of bilateral meetings and engagements with his Government counterparts and the finance and energy industries in the capital, Brasilia, 20-21 August – with industrial decarbonisation continuing to be a key theme of his visit.

Following their meeting in London last month, he first held talks with National Secretary of Climate Change, Ana Toni. He also met with the Secretary for Climate, Energy and the Environment at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, André Corrêa do Lago and Minister for the Cabinet Office, Rui Costa.

On his final day in Brazil, he met Climate Minister Silva and Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira. During his visit he spoke to major businesses too – holding a renewables-focused roundtable with major energy companies, including Shell Brazil, BP, Rolls Royce, Subsea 7, ERM, and the British Chamber of Commerce to discuss the economic opportunities the clean energy transition presents.

There was a separate roundtable focused on mobilising finance for the clean energy transition – which was attended by the Brazilian Ministry of Finance and the Brazilian Development Bank. This follows the recently-signed MOU between the UK and the Brazilian Development Bank that supports cooperation between the two countries on this important issue.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said:

“The UK Government has a duty to protect current and future generations in the UK and around the world from the devastating effects of the climate crisis.

“In my first international visit to Brazil, I have been loud and clear that the UK stands ready to work with our Brazilian partners to keep 1.5C alive in this critical decade.

“From hosting this year’s G20 Presidency to next year’s COP30, Brazil is in a unique position to drive climate action on the world stage. As home to the largest rainforest on Earth, the potential to deliver real change here is huge. From speaking to business and energy leaders and fellow Ministers, we have discussed how we can tackle this shared challenge together and encourage others to match our clean energy ambitions.”

Ends

Notes to Editors:

• Since co-founding in 2008 alongside the US, Japan and the World bank, the UK has been one of the largest donors to the Climate Investment Funds having contributed £2.7bn to date.
• The CIFs are a leading part of the international climate finance architecture, working exclusively through Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) to leverage wider public and private financing to deliver climate investments at scale in developing countries.