Brazil has committed to triple its global renewable energy capacity by 2030 and phase out coal – a significant move to tackle climate change, Reuters has reported.

The country’s foreign minister announced the decision just before the UN COP28 summit, to be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 30 November to 12 December 2023.

Brazil’s embassy in Abu Dhabi set out the commitment in a letter to the UAE foreign ministry, and agreed to join the Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Targets Pledge.

Brazil becomes one of around 100 countries and entities that have agreed to join the pledge, along with the EU, US and UAE.

It is hoped that more countries participating in the upcoming climate summit will do the same.

Brazil is a crucial player in renewable energy, as more than 80% of its electricity is generated from renewable resources including hydropower, solar and wind energy, which are gaining a lot of traction.

The country acknowledged that it is mathematically impossible to increase its renewable capacity domestically, but a foreign ministry official has been quoted by Reuters as saying: “Brazil won't be able to triple its own renewable energy because it is already very high, but is once again reinforcing its support for renewables.”

The news agency recently reported that the US and France are planning to introduce a new policy at the COP28 summit to restrict private financing for coal-fired power plants.

The new policy aims to prevent private financial institutions and insurance companies from making such investments, and to track them through regulators, rating agencies and non-governmental organisations.

Its urgency is underscored by the 490GW developmental pipeline of coal power projects, mainly in India and China.