About Brazil

The National Project Advisory Group (PAG) in Brazil is composed of the Ministry of Environment (BR), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, ANAMMA (National Association of Municipalities) (BR), São Paulo Municipal Committee for Climate Change and Eco-economy (BR), Environment Secretariat of the State of São Paulo (BR), Adjunct Secretary of Green and Environment of the Municipality of São Paulo (BR), Environmental Company of the State of São Paulo (CETESB) (BR), Environment Secretariat of Santos (BR), Fiji Ambassador to Brazil, FIESP (Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo) (BR), Brazilian Forum on Climate Change (FBMC), WRI Brazil, Climate Observatory (OC) (BR), WWF Brazil, SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation (BR), Intermunicipal Consortium of the West Region (CIOESTE), Company of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (BR), Green Party (BR), São Paulo State Department of Logistcs and Transportation (SLT) (BR), Renewable Energies of the State of São Paulo (BR), CETESB (BR), and the European Union Delegation to Brazil.

Contact us

ICLEI South America Secretariat
Rua Marquês de Itu 70 – 14th floor, Vila Buarque.
Postal Code: 01223-000, São Paulo – SP, Brazil
Phone: +55 11 50843079
E-mail: urban-leds-brasil@iclei.org

UN-Habitat Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean
Rua Rumania 20 Rio de Janeiro RJ CEP 22240-140
Tel: +55 21 3235 8550
E-mail: rolac@onuhabitat.org

Results from Phase I

The national project launch took place at the Second Meeting of Cities with Sustainable Development, organized by the Brazilian National Front of Mayors in Brasilia, in April 2013. The first agreements were signed by the city mayors at this meeting in the presence of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and several Ministers of State, including mayors from the Brazilian Model Cities of Fortaleza and Recife, and the Satellite Cities of Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, Sorocaba and Betim.

As Urban-LEDS Phase I finished in 2015, Brazilian cities had achieved the following:

• Recife: In April 2014 Recife’s Municipal Council approved the Municipal Climate Change and Sustainability Bill (Law N°18.011/2014) – which will be the basis of the city’s future LEDS. This law also required the City to prepare a sustainability certification scheme (based on Belo Horizonte’s example). In November 2015, the Decree, N° 29.219 enacting the City’s Action Plan and Target was approved by the Council.
• Fortaleza: In December 2015 the Mayor signed the Climate Change Bill, which includes the city’s Urban LEDS policy, commitments and actions.
• All eight Brazilian cities are reporting in the carbonn® Climate Registry (cCR). You can visit their profiles in the city pages.
• All eight Brazilian cities have implemented a range of low emission development solutions with the help of Urban-LEDS, including: installation of photovoltaic (PV) panels, building recycled infrastructure, setting up awareness-raising centers, and developing an LED street lighting project. To read more about these solutions, download the final Urban-LEDS report or visit the city pages.

Fortaleza is the capital of Ceará State, Brazil. The city was founded on April 13th, 1726. It is now the 5th most populous city in Brazil. Fortaleza was a model city in Phase I of the Urban-LEDS project.

The environment of Fortaleza has characteristics similar to those that occur all along the coast of Brazil. The climate is hot and tropical. The predominant vegetation is of mangrove and restinga with the Ecological Park of Cocó as the main green space in the city. Its elevation has an average altitude of fifteen meters and the biggest river is the Cocó. The institution that has the ability to promote and execute municipal environmental policy is the Municipal Secretariat of Environment and Urban Control (SEMAM).

Greenhouse Gas emissions by sector

Recife is the capital of the State of Pernambuco, and a major port in the northeast region of Brazil.  Recife was a satellite city in Phase I of the Urban-LEDS project.

Recife is a coastal city, which has a humid tropical climate, consisting of islands, peninsulas, wetlands, and mangroves surrounded by five rivers: Beberibe, Capibaribe, Tejipió, Jaboatão, and Pirapama.

Greenhouse Gas emissions by sector

Belo Horizonte is the capital of the State of Minas Gerais, in the Southeast region of Brazil. It’s the sixth-largest city in Brazil and the thirteenth-largest in South America. It’s within the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, the third largest in Brazil. Belo Horizonte was a satellite city in Phase I of the Urban-LEDS.

The city is not a costal one, the main basin is of the Rios das Velhas that is comprised within the São Francisco River Basin. The geography of the are is mountainous with a tropical climate that is dry in the winter and moist in the summer.

Greenhouse Gas emissions by sector

Betim is a city in the State of Minas Gerais, in the southeast region of Brazil. It’s within the metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, the third largest in Brazil, and represents an important metallurgical zone in the state. Betim was a satellite city in Phase I of Urban-LEDS.

The city has three main rivers: Rio Paraopeba, Rio Betim, and Riacho das Areias. The climate is tropical, with a dry winter and moist summer.

Greenhouse Gas emissions by sector

Curitiba is the capital and largest city of the State of Paraná, in the southern region of Brazil. Curitiba presents one of the few high Brazilian Human Development Index readings and is considered one of the municipalities that excels in sustainable urban development. Curitiba was a satellite city in Phase I of Urban-LEDS.

Curitiba is the coldest capital of Brazil, located in the Atlantic Forest domain, presenting a temperate climate. Rainfall is abundant throughout the year occurring in the form of rain, hail, or even snow. Its water catchment area consists of several rivers, but the main ones are Rio Paraná, Rio Belém, Rio Barigui, and Rio Atuba.

Greenhouse Gas emissions by sector

The city of Porto Alegre was founded on March 26, 1772. The area of Porto Alegre, is a meeting point of different natural systems that give a diversified geography to the city. This geological formation acted as a natural restraint for the occupation of the municipality towards the south zone, and contributed to Porto Alegre maintaining 30% of its territory as a rural area, the second largest among Brazilian capitals.

A 730-million-year ring of granite hills frame the city’s large urban center, occupying 65% of its territory. The hills are part of a platform that originated from rocks that melted under intense pressure and heat inside the earth, and then emerged, rising to the height of mountains. Today, thinned and cracked by the erosion of millions of years, they form small, rounded hilltops that dominate the landscape of the capital. Morro Santana, 311 meters in elevation, is the highest point, with native forests and fields, waterfalls, ponds, ponds, lakes, streams, and waterfalls.

Greenhouse Gas emissions by sector

Rio de Janeiro is the capital of the State of Rio de Janeiro, in the Southeast region of Brazil. It’s an important port within the metropolitan area of the state, the second largest in Brazil. It is one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere and is known for its natural settings, beaches, and festivities. Rio de Janeiro was a satellite city in Phase I of Urban-LEDS.

Rio de Janeiro is a coastal city within the Atlantic forest. Its geography includes alluvial plains between hills and peaks. It has a tropical climate.

Greenhouse Gas emissions by sector

Sorocaba is located strategically between São Paulo and Curitiba, two important metropolitan regions of Brazil, while also maintaining territorial limit and process of conurbation with the Metropolitan Region of Campinas. Sorocaba is the third most populated city in the state of São Paulo, and capital of a micro-region with 14 municipalities. With more than 50 km of bicycle paths, it is also very open to cycling mobility.

The whole range of semi-mountainous topography of the eastern part of the region of Sorocaba consists of the mountain range of Paranapiacaba.

Greenhouse Gas emissions by sector