Brazil to announce ambitious carbon target

Brazil is preparing to become the latest country to attempt to break the deadlock in the build-up to next month's crucial climate change talks in Copenhagen, with a pledge to cut emissions by between 38 and 42 per cent compared to business-as-usual projections by 2020.

The targets are voluntary rather than legally binding, but would still be among the most ambitious emission-reduction goals proposed by a developing country, and are intended to increase pressure on industrialised nations such as the US into agreeing to more demanding targets.

The country's chief of staff, Dilma Rousseff, told reporters this week that the move was a "political gesture" designed to draw a response from richer countries.

"We are already an example to the world. But the fact that we are going to announce a significant objective does not mean we do not know that the responsible ones are the developed countries," Rousseff said. "We still believe that the responsibility belongs to the developed countries."

Around half of the proposed cuts are expected to result from improved protection of the Amazon rainforest, while the other half will result from curbs in emissions from business and agriculture.

The move is the latest in a series of initiatives from large emerging economies designed to underline their commitment to tackling climate change and pressure industrialised nations into signing up to more ambitious targets. China has said it will aim to cut its carbon intensity over the next 10 years, although it is yet to announce a set target, while India has pledged to produce a comprehensive low-carbon strategy, and Mexico has said it will cut emissions 50 per cent by 2050.

A number of richer nations have also upgraded their emission pledges in recent weeks, with Japan announcing it will cut emissions 25 per cent by 2020 and Norway pledging to reduce emissions 40 per cent by the same date.

However, overall, industrialised nations still remain well short of the commitments recommended by climate scientists and demanded by developing countries, with research suggesting aggregate targets from all industrialised nations equate to cuts of less than 10 per cent by 2020. Developing countries are calling for targets of 40 per cent with the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recommending emission cuts of between 25 and 40 per cent by 2020.