Brazilian Agriculture and the International Political Economy of Climate Change

Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and land use in Brazil accounted for 72% of the total in 2020. Apart from this, the agricultural sector, particularly the agribusiness, with growing economic power and political influence over the last three decades, has been linked to the path of deforestation in the Amazon and the Cerrado, central to Brazilian identity and international perceptions of the country in terms of climate change. In this chapter, we analyze the heterogeneous trajectory of the agricultural sector as key to understanding the past, present, and future role of Brazil in the International Political Economy of Climate Change. The questions we seek to answer in this chapter are thus: What is the influence of different subsectors of Brazilian agriculture, mainly agribusiness, on the role of Brazil in the international political economy of climate change? Will the trajectory of the different sectors reduce or increase the level of climate commitment of Brazil? We answer these questions through the analysis of the agricultural subsectors’ positions on GHG emissions and climate policy responses of the national government in four historical periods, using the Climate Commitment Approach. In this regard, we look at three dimensions: technical modernization, political power, and relation to climate change.