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Peer Review

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Notes

Brazil is the world’s fourth largest producer of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.1 The majority of
emissions come from the clearance and burning
of the Amazon rainforest.. Globally, tropical forest
destruction is responsible for around 20% of global
GHG emissions.2 Ending deforestation is an essential
part of a global strategy to tackle climate change and
to preserve biodiversity.
The major challenge, as identified by the World Bank,
is to target the main economic drivers of deforestation
at the ‘agricultural frontiers, such as the Amazon’.3
World governments, multilateral funding agencies such
as the World Bank and global corporations all have a
role to play.
The Copenhagen Climate Summit, to be held in
Denmark in December 2009, is the key opportunity for
governments to agree measures to drastically reduce
GHG emissions. Any effective deal must include
actions and funding to tackle deforestation.