The Brazilian city that emitted the most greenhouse gases in 2019 was Altamira, in Pará. The data comes from the second edition of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Removal Estimates System, a project of the Climate Observatory.
Altamira topped São Félix do Xingu, also in Pará, the leader in emissions in 2018 and which, in the following year, was second in the ranking. São Paulo occupies fifth place, and Rio de Janeiro, eighth.
In the top 10, only São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are outside the Amazon. And the explanation for this is the main source of emissions in Brazil: land use change, which, in this case, can be translated as deforestation.
Therefore, it is no coincidence that, in 2019, Altamira was the city with the highest level of deforestation in the Amazon. In second place in the deforestation ranking is São Félix do Xingu, which also has the largest cattle herd in Brazil — the digestion process of cattle emits greenhouse gases.
CITIES WITH THE MOST GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS IN THE COUNTRY
Altamira (PA)
Sao Felix do Xingu (PA)
Porto Velho (RO)
Labrea (AM)
Sao Paulo-SP)
Pacajá (PA)
New Progress (PA)
Rio de Janeiro - RJ)
Colniza (MT)
Apuí (AM)
Source: Seeg Municipalities/Climate Observatory; 2019 data.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon