Brazil has been accused of “pervasive greenwashing” and of using COP30 to further the cause of its powerful livestock sector – just days before it hosts the UN climate summit in the heart of the Amazon.
Meat and poultry giants such as JBS, Minerva and MBRF (formed from a merger of BRF and Marfrig earlier this year) had been “working overtime” to portray themselves as champions of climate action while lobbying behind the scenes to avoid mandatory regulation, claimed campaign group Changing Markets Foundation.
Corporate lobbyists from these major businesses would have a significant presence at next week’s summit, held in the city of Belém, claimed the group’s new report, titled The Meat Agenda: Agricultural Exceptionalism and Greenwash in Brazil, published today.
And while its president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva had made “laudable achievements” in reducing deforestation and progressing towards the eradication of hunger, Changing Markets highlighted how the agribusiness lobby was “shielded from meaningful regulation through systematic greenwashing, effective lobbying and political capture by vested interests”.
Its influence was so entrenched that despite Brazil being a signatory to the Global Methane Pledge, agricultural methane received no mention in the country’s nationally determined contribution.
This was described as a “glaring omission” by the campaign group. Brazil is the world’s largest beef exporter, with agriculture accounting for 75.6% of its methane emissions, and 74% of its total emissions.
“Cutting methane emissions this decade is the emergency brake needed to slow the climate crisis,” Changing Markets said.
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The agribusiness sector was “seizing the opportunity to capitalise on its political access, putting in efforts to control the narrative and shape the agenda around climate, food and agriculture”, the report claimed.
And with the powerful ruralist caucus controlling most of Brazil’s Congress, the sector was allowed the “privileged position of lenient regulation and enormous tax breaks”.
The power of big meat and poultry firms was laid bare in the so-called Destruction Bill passed in July – a rollback of environmental protections that, despite several vetoes from Lula, “still gave serious concessions to agribusiness in how it planned to cut red tape”.
Greenwashing at COP30
Standout examples of greenwashing at the upcoming summit include how Brazil’s special envoy for agriculture, Roberto Rodrigues, promises that COP30 would showcase “the efficiency and replicability of Brazilian tropical agribusiness to the world”.
These efforts would culminate in the AgriZone, part of the official COP30 agenda, which will host around 400 events, many led by industry, and was being promoted as “a platform to address environmental challenges while showcasing the successes of Brazilian agriculture”.
From forums presenting Brazilian agribusiness as an ‘environmental powerhouse’ to journalist workshops promoting ‘fair metrics’ for ‘tropical agriculture’, corporations had “orchestrated a sophisticated campaign to position themselves as part of the climate solution”, the report pointed out.
Changing Markets singled out JBS’s work at the summit as particularly questionable. The much-criticised protein giant – whose total greenhouse emissions in 2023 were estimated at 241 million tonnes CO2e, more than the individual emissions reported for 81% of the world’s countries – was a co-sponsor of the Folha media centre, to be held just 450 metres from the conference centre.
The company was also said to be preparing to launch a study at COP30 in collaboration with the University of Kansas to “challenge current methodologies for calculating greenhouse gas emissions from livestock production, part of an industry-backed campaign to downplay its methane pollution”.
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MBRF, meanwhile, had been “sowing the seeds for its renewed greenwash with planned announcements around ‘low-carbon beef’”.
The report’s publication comes a day after the UN published its 2025 Emissions Gap report, which warned the planet was “off target” in its ambition to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
Based on the full implementation of nationally determined contributions (NDCs), global warming projections now stood between 2.3°C and 2.5°C, putting the Paris Agreement limit of 1.5°C at risk in the short-term.
“While Brazil’s climate ambitions [to cut emissions by between 59% and 67% by 2035] are laudable, they are unachievable without addressing the emissions of the agribusiness, particularly its vast methane footprint,” said Changing Markets senior campaigner Maddy Haughton-Boakes.
“With 1.5°C hanging in the balance, the stakes have never been higher,” she added.
“COP30 is a critical opportunity to ensure that when it comes to food systems, climate science and frontline communities, rather than corporate influence, shape our path forward. As world leaders gather in Belém, Brazil has the potential to be a true climate leader if it calls out the greenwash and stands up to Big Meat.”
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