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A criação de gado é responsável pela metade das emissões brasileiras dos gases de efeito estufa de acordo com um novo estudo conduzido por cientistas do Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais do Brasil (INPE).
A pesquisa descobriu que as emissões da criação de gado na Amazônia e no cerrado, uma vegetação típica rasteira ao sul da Floresta Amazônica, gerou 813 milhões a 1.09 bilhões de toneladas de emissões de dióxido de carbono entre 2003 e 2008. A Amazônia foi responsável por 499 a 775 milhões de toneladas de emissões de CO2, enquanto o cerrado foi responsável por 229-231 milhões de toneladas.
As emissões da criação de gado em outras partes do país somaram 84-87 milhões de toneladas no período.
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O estudo, que é baseado no uso do sistema brasileiro com tecnologia de ponta no monitoramento de terras descobriu que 75 por cento da floresta desmatada durante o período acabou sendo usada para pastoreio de gado, e 56 por cento do desmatamento do cerrado resultou em terras para pastagem.
O estudo estima que cada quilograma de bife brasileiro está associado á 300 quilogramas (660 libras) de emissões de CO2.
“Descobrimos que o custo das emissões de carbono por unidade de saída excede o custo real do produto como um todo na venda,” disse Roberto Smeraldi da Amigos da Terra – Amazônia Brasileira, um co-autor do estudo.
Os autores, liderados por Carlos Nobre do INPE, disseram que o estudo mostra que o Brasil precisa se concentrar em maneiras de reduzir o impacto ambiental da criação de gado a fim de cortar as emissões de gases de efeito estufa. Eles sugerem que poderia haver reformas políticas que aumentassem a vigilância da lei e melhorassem as praticas de manejo da terra diminuindo assim o desflorestamento e as emissões associadas á ele. Os pagamentos pela restauração e conservação da floresta seria algo que poderia incentivar os criadores de gado a adotar abordagens mais ecologicamente responsáveis. Além disso, poderia haver uma certificação dos produtos agrícolas da Amazônia que permitisse o rastreamento da cadeia de fornecimento de volta aos rancheiros e criadores de gado para forçar um desempenho ambiental mais responsável entre os produtores.
O Brasil se ofereceu para reduzir as emissões em quase 40 por cento do níveis projetados (14 a 19 por cento abaixo dos níveis de 2005) até 2020. A maior parte da redução viria de uma redução de 70 por cento nas taxas do desflorestamento.
 Os níveis propostos pelo Brasil na redução do desflorestamento: |
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