Companies and their financiers are exposed to a variety of financial risks when linked to deforestation, ranging from reputational damage to reduced market access. Of the companies that disclosed information on involvement with forest-risk commodities in CDP’s 2018 survey, two-thirds conducted risk assessments of forest-related issues and 92 percent of risk assessments identified substantive business …
Widespread fires in Brazil have been the center of media attention for yet again this year. Unlike the Amazon and Pantanal biomes, the Cerrado has seen 9 percent fewer fires from July-September 2020 compared to last year. However, in an analysis conducted by Chain Reaction Research, soy traders operating in the Cerrado biome have thus …
Two large wildfires are currently raging at Fazenda Parceiro, an SLC Agricola-controlled farm in the municipality of Formosa do Rio Preto in the Brazilian state of Bahia. Fazenda Parceiro is a 42,020-hectare (ha) property with a planted area of 14,351 ha. The farm consists of several separate sections, and the fires were detected on satellite …
In the wake of a particularly destructive 2019 fire season, year-to-date fire alerts for 2020 have already surpassed those of last year by 14 percent in the Amazon and over 200 percent in the Pantanal through September 30. On July 15, Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, issued a 120-day moratorium on forest fires in the Amazon …
The continued increases in Chinese imports of soy and beef from Brazil have contributed to high deforestation rates in both the Amazon and the Cerrado. In recent years, the China-Brazil trade link has tightened amid volatile U.S.-China relations, the depreciation of the Brazilian Real, and the African Swine Fever outbreak. Brazilian exports of frozen beef …
Brazilian soy producer SLC Agrícola said that it will stop deforesting in the Cerrado in 2020 and move to increasing productivity on already cleared land. However, its newly announced target to halt deforestation will not take effect right away. SLC Agrícola will continue to execute plans to clear land at its farms before shifting to …
The United Kingdom and Germany have recently announced new bills aimed at achieving deforestation-free commodity supply chains. The bills also focus on decarbonization of the transportation and energy sectors, and, if enacted, they would help countries meet climate change and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. At the same time, however, Indonesia plans to implement a …
As investors seek to increase the sustainability and resilience of portfolios and financial institutions expand the selection of sustainable funds globally (3,432 as of 2Q 2020), there is growing interest in mitigating Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) risk in equity portfolios. Already, signatories to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) have increased by 28 percent in …
The Brazilian government has sent mixed signals regarding the urgency to tackle deforestation in the country. As pressure from international investors has stepped up against land clearing for agricultural purposes in Brazil, the government has said it will take steps to assuage their fears and reduce forest loss. However, when speaking to domestic audiences, government …
Brazilian soy exports have risen steeply amid the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of attractive exchange rates, agribusiness expansion, US-China tensions, and efforts to mitigate the risk of supply chain uncertainties. As demand for Brazilian soy soars, agribusinesses and farmland developers are seizing the opportunity to expand in the biodiverse Cerrado biome in western Bahia, …
