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SDG 13 Climate Action

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SDG 13 Climate Action

Deforestation of Indigenous lands could prevent Brazil from achieving climate change mitigation targets
SDG 13
Deforestation of Indigenous lands could prevent Brazil from achieving climate change mitigation targets

The warning comes from a letter by Brazilian researchers published in the journal Science, highlighting the “dramatic increase” in deforestation in areas of the Amazon that should act as shields against such destruction.


Inequality and poverty increase vulnerability to climate change in Central and South America
SDG 13
Inequality and poverty increase vulnerability to climate change in Central and South America

The point was stressed by Jean Ometto, a senior researcher at Brazil’s National Space Research Institute (INPE) and a Lead Author of the latest installment of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, during a webinar held by FAPESP. Four other Brazilian researchers who contributed to the document also took part in the event.


Smartphone app helps communities monitor floods and supplies data for disaster prevention
SDG 13
Smartphone app helps communities monitor floods and supplies data for disaster prevention

The app is one of the outcomes of an initiative by researchers in Brazil, Germany and the UK to engage local communities in generating data on flood-prone areas. The researchers are also collecting memories of past incidents.


Diversity of coralline red algae is greater than expected and could increase further
SDG 13, SDG 14
Diversity of coralline red algae is greater than expected and could increase further

Genetic sequencing enables scientists to identify 79 different species of coralline algae serving as a habitat for countless marine organisms on the Brazilian coast, with many yet to be explored in deep waters.


Study proposes to involve high school students in mapping natural disaster hazards and impact prevention
SDG 11, SDG 13
Study proposes to involve high school students in mapping natural disaster hazards and impact prevention

Brazilian scientists tested a participatory disaster risk monitoring strategy in a town that was partially destroyed in 2010 after an unprecedented flood. The methodology can be applied in other parts of the country.


Deforestation and climate change threaten Brazil’s new agricultural frontier
SDG 13
Deforestation and climate change threaten Brazil’s new agricultural frontier

These factors combined have worsened the severe drought conditions in the transition zone between the eastern Amazon and the Brazilian savanna, where the main soybean-producing region (MaToPiBa) is located. The researchers who detected the trend warn that crop yields could fall.


Start of summer in Brazil sees record number of extreme rain events
SDG 13
Start of summer in Brazil sees record number of extreme rain events

Survey by National Disaster Surveillance and Early Warning Center (CEMADEN) highlights simultaneity of extreme weather episodes due to heavy rain in North, Southeast and parts of Center-West, and drought in South and parts of Northeast.


Even the smallest pollution particles change the rainfall regime in the Amazon
SDG 13
Even the smallest pollution particles change the rainfall regime in the Amazon

Researchers have found that nanoparticles resulting from human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels rapidly grow in the atmosphere and influence cloud formation. The discovery will help make meteorological models and climate change simulations more accurate.


Brazil has the potential to lead the world carbon market
SDG 13
Brazil has the potential to lead the world carbon market

With 50 million hectares of reforestable land, Brazil can make a decisive contribution to efforts to achieve the world’s climate change mitigation targets, while earning substantial income from carbon credit trading, according to participants in a webinar hosted by BIOTA-FAPESP.


Brazil-China research collaborations are strategic to combat adverse effects of climate change
SDG 13, SDG 17
Brazil-China research collaborations are strategic to combat adverse effects of climate change

A workshop held by FAPESP and NNSFC featured scientists from China and São Paulo presenting research projects with potential for partnership.


Amazon +10 Fund is backed by ten states with an initial injection of BRL 100 million from FAPESP
SDG 12, SDG 13, SDG 17
Amazon +10 Fund is backed by ten states with an initial injection of BRL 100 million from FAPESP

The launch was announced during COP26 at an event attended by São Paulo State Governor João Doria.


New description increases number of known species in jellyfish genus from seven to 28
SDG 13, SDG 14
New description increases number of known species in jellyfish genus from seven to 28

On the basis of genetic analysis of jellyfish specimens held in collections around the world, researchers have reclassified these species in the genus Aurelia, many of which are highly similar. Painstaking descriptions of species are key to conservation strategies.


Representatives of Brazilian civil society left mark on COP26 climate summit
SDG 13
Representatives of Brazilian civil society left mark on COP26 climate summit

The view was expressed by experts who took part in a webinar organized by FAPESP to discuss COP26, the climate conference held in Glasgow UK on October 31-November 13.


A conservation incentive yields increase of protected Atlantic Rainforest areas, but with limited results
SDG 13
A conservation incentive yields increase of protected Atlantic Rainforest areas, but with limited results

The ICMS-E mechanism, whereby states pay municipalities to conserve biodiversity and water resources, is effective but its impact decreases as the number of conservation units increases. In addition, it mainly stimulates creation of units with relatively few restrictions on land use change.


Startup supported by FAPESP pitches bus fleet decarbonizing tool at COP26
SDG 9, SDG 13
Startup supported by FAPESP pitches bus fleet decarbonizing tool at COP26

Scipopulis was one of five Brazilian startups selected to participate in a program designed to help innovative fast-growth tech firms implement solutions that mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.


Study extends amphibians’ known reproductive modes from 39 to 74 and creates new classification
SDG 13, SDG 15
Study extends amphibians’ known reproductive modes from 39 to 74 and creates new classification

Carrying eggs on their back, laying them in bromeliads or depositing them on leaves are some of the strategies cataloged by Brazilian researchers in a study that will help scientists understand the evolution of vertebrates and contribute to conservation policy.


Scientists use artificial intelligence to simulate the effects of warming on the Southern Ocean
SDG 13, SDG 14
Scientists use artificial intelligence to simulate the effects of warming on the Southern Ocean

A study published in Frontiers in Marine Science is the first to predict the impact of long-term changes in sea surface temperature on local microbial diversity. The methodology is also innovative.


Scientists discover how forest fires influence rain cloud formation in the Amazon
SDG 13
Scientists discover how forest fires influence rain cloud formation in the Amazon

Particles released into the atmosphere by fire modify the water droplet freezing process and can affect precipitation, according to a paper in Communications Earth & Environment.


Climate change caused the devastating floods of 2020 in Minas Gerais, Brazil, study concludes
SDG 13
Climate change caused the devastating floods of 2020 in Minas Gerais, Brazil, study concludes

Torrential rain resulted in losses estimated at BRL 1.3 billion and made over 90,000 people homeless in the state, where the probability of far higher volumes of rain than expected has increased 70% owing to industrialization and global warming.


Climate change will alter functioning of marine microbial communities, study shows
SDG 13, SDG 14
Climate change will alter functioning of marine microbial communities, study shows

Plankton are the foundation of life in the oceans and produce half the world’s oxygen. These marine microorganisms will suffer from rising temperatures at the poles, rising salinity in the tropics, and a reduction in the flow of nutrients in the temperate zone, according to simulations based on data collected from all oceans around the globe.


Large infrastructure projects in the Amazon have bequeathed a harmful social and environmental legacy
SDG 1, SDG 3, SDG 8, SDG 13
Large infrastructure projects in the Amazon have bequeathed a harmful social and environmental legacy

For scientists gathered at this FAPESP-hosted webinar, projects like the Belo Monte dam and the Transamazon highway have had few local benefits and led to a rise in poverty, violence, deforestation and disease.


Electoral cycles influence destruction of Atlantic Rainforest areas in South and Southeast Brazil
SDG 13
Electoral cycles influence destruction of Atlantic Rainforest areas in South and Southeast Brazil

Study led by researchers at the University of São Paulo analyzed data for the period 1991-2014 and revealed that deforestation increased in election years. The phenomenon could cancel out the environmental gains achieved by conservation policies and actions, the scientists warn.


Scientists use radar data to measure the impact of forest fires in the Amazon
SDG 13
Scientists use radar data to measure the impact of forest fires in the Amazon

The researchers combined VOD, an indicator of the amount of water in vegetation, with remote sensing data from optical satellites. The innovative strategy described in Remote Sensing provides a more comprehensive understanding of the biomass changes caused by fire.


Fire in wet area of the Amazon destroys 27% of trees in up to three years, study finds
SDG 13
Fire in wet area of the Amazon destroys 27% of trees in up to three years, study finds

Based on data collected in the field, Brazilian researchers showed that small and medium trees suffer most in the first two years after a fire, but the overall impact on vegetation can last decades. Carbon stocks fall 12.8% in burned areas on average.


Without proper management, wildfires in natural areas will intensify in the months ahead, study warns
SDG 13
Without proper management, wildfires in natural areas will intensify in the months ahead, study warns

A study alerts to the conjunction between a climate change scenario and little inspection with the arrival of the dry season in the country, which favors large-scale fires – such as that which occurred in the Pantanal in 2020. To avoid further tragedies, researchers defend the implementation of a policy of integrated fire management.


News about research projects funded by FAPESP and articulated with the SDGs: