The goal of zero deforestation in Brazil by 2030, proposed by President Lula (PT), is something that Environment Minister Marina Silva says she sees on the horizon.

Confident that the country will put an end to vegetation cutting, she has been working ahead to create a fund that rewards countries that maintain preserved tropical forests.

According to government calculations, Brazil could receive R$ 8 billion annually with the new mechanism, named the Tropical Forests Forever Fund.

"There’s a very interesting difference compared to the Amazon Fund, which is payment for results. Tropical Forests Forever is a global fund. The Amazon Fund is just for the Amazon," she says. "It’s a way to reward those who protect."

The initiative is one of the contributions the country aims to present at COP30, the UN climate conference that will take place in Belém at the end of 2025. Brazil, says Marina, will also focus on the fair energy transition, a concept that underscores the disputes between rich and developing countries on the path to phasing out fossil fuels.

To improve responses to extreme events, the minister also advocates declaring a "climate emergency" in 1,942 vulnerable municipalities across the country.

"It’s about moving from the logic of disaster management, as we have today, to the logic of climate risk management," she says. She developed the plan after the rains that killed 65 people in São Sebastião (SP), on the northern coast, in 2023, and reinforced the proposal after the tragedy, also caused by rains, in Rio Grande do Sul this year.

The idea is that these cities will have access to resources to carry out adaptation works and take preventive measures.