From this Tuesday (9), the population will be able to follow federal government climate spending from 2010 to 2023. An interactive panel came into operation that allows the identification of expenditure on climate change, biodiversity and risk and disaster management.
Called the Climate Spending Panel, the initiative is the result of a partnership between the Ministry of Planning and Budget (MPO), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change and the Ministry of Finance. Monitoring will be possible because the various departments created a standardized methodology to identify and monitor federal investments in these three areas.
According to the survey, the Central Government invested R$782 billion between 2010 and 2023. The majority was allocated to the climate agenda (R$421 billion), followed by biodiversity protection (R$250 billion) and risk and disaster management (R$111 billion).
According to the Ministry of Planning and Budget, the absence of a unified system made planning and evaluating public policies difficult. The new panel, informed the ministry, will bring consistent data to evaluate the execution of policies such as the Climate Plan and the Ecological Transformation Plan.
The report classifies expenses with positive and negative impact. The tool, highlighted Planning, allows discussing whether expenses are aligned with climate goals.
Profile change
The analysis reveals two distinct periods in climate investment. Until 2015, the values were higher. Then spending fell.
According to the Ministry of Planning and Budget, the drop from 2015 onwards was influenced by fiscal tightening, the creation of the federal spending ceiling and the interruption of the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) from 2020 to 2022. The expansion of parliamentary amendments, of which less than 5% were allocated to the climate, also contributed to the reduction.
In addition to the drop in volume, the type of spending has changed. Expenses on adaptation and risk management jumped from 24% in 2010 to almost 70% in 2023, indicating that resources began to focus on responses to extreme events already underway.
The evolution of spending on biodiversity presented a paradox. Spending with a negative impact outweighs the positive ones. The construction of hydroelectric plants, for example, can reduce emissions, but causes irreversible damage to ecosystems. According to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, it is necessary to evaluate each action with the “lens” of mitigation and reduction of emissions.
In the disaster area, spending has been growing, driven by the greater frequency of extreme events. The report shows that most resources go to risk reduction, while governance and risk analysis continue to receive little investment.
The increase in expenses with rural insurance, such as the Agricultural Activity Guarantee Program (Proagro), also weighs on the public account. This is because the program protects small and medium-sized rural producers against financial losses caused by adverse weather events (such as drought, frost and hail) or uncontrolled pests and diseases, in some cases related to climate change.
Replicable methodology
The development of the system took almost two years and involved technical bodies and civil society entities, such as the Climate Observatory and the research institute WRI Brasil. The methodology was designed to be replicated by states, municipalities and even other countries.
The interactive panel and the full report are available on the MPO website and allow you to view in detail the application of public resources in these agendas. The folder published a video with a tutorial to access the tool.
