Germany and Brazil announce new era of environmental cooperation

Germany and Brazil announced a new agreement on Thursday and will collaborate more closely on environmental issues including deforestation and clean energy generation.

The agreement is designed to align the two countries’ climate policies more closely in the build up to the crucial global climate talks in Paris in December.

Chancellor Angela Merkel (pictured left) and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (right) met in Brasilia during a visit from the German leader and focused on environmental cooperation as well as trade and investment.

Rousseff said: "We agreed on common actions to deal with one of the most important challenges of the 21st Century."

President Rouseff has outlined Brazil’s target to reduce deforestation in the Amazon rainforest to zero by 2030 and has declared the nation’s support for decarbonising the global economy by the end of the century as part of UN-led efforts to reach a historic global climate deal at the UN Climate Change Conference that runs from 30 November to 11 December.

The German government announced 550 million euros in financing for environmental and clean energy projects in Brazil and Germany's Development Ministry will provide 525 million euros in loans to support the development of renewable energy sources and to preserve tropical forests.

Germany also confirmed a donation of 23 million euros to help Brazil establish a rural land registry to improve the monitoring of deforestation.

Merkel was joined by seven ministers and five secretaries of state, for the significant meeting of the two leaders who also met in Brussels after the G7 meeting at Schloss Elmau in June.