With an imminent climate cataclysm, the urgency of current climate action plans falls short in effectively addressing climate change. Escalating extreme weather events, worsened by rising temperatures, already pose substantial global risks. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stresses the immediate need for substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions across sectors to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, necessitating transformative actions for net-zero emissions, securing a sustainable future, and averting catastrophic consequences for generations to come.

The global temperature rise of 1.1ºC above pre-industrial levels has triggered alarming consequences such as glacier melt and rising sea levels, causing floods and droughts that displace millions into poverty, hinder access to basic services, widen inequalities, and foster conflict. By 2030, drought alone could threaten around 700 million people with displacement.

Often referred to as the “lungs of the earth,” the Amazon rainforest hosts about 390 billion trees, storing approximately 123 billion tons of carbon. This establishes it as a significant global carbon reserve and a crucial asset for achieving SDG 13. However, deforestation, fuelled by factors such as fires and land-use practices, is shifting portions of the Amazon from a carbon sink to a carbon source.

At Freeworld, we believe that the collection of Brazil nuts serves as a key means for indigenous Amazonian communities to generate income from the rainforest and simultaneously safeguard it from the detrimental impacts of deforestation. By offering income from Brazil nuts via the European market, we encourage indigenous communities to remain in the rainforest and shield it from deforestation, directly contributing to SDG 13. This not only benefits the communities themselves but also has a broader global impact, with the Amazon rainforest continuing to regulate the global climate.

Find out more at https://sdgs.un.org/