LatinNews Daily - 22 May 2024

*Brazil’s national confederation of municipalities (CNM), an organisation that represents the interests of mayors and local officials, has urged the national congress to approve the creation of a ‘Fundo Nacional de Mudança Climática’, a fund to help municipalities cope with the impacts of climate change. Legislation to create this fund was drafted by federal deputy Gilson Daniel (Podemos), who previously served as mayor of Viana (2013-2021), a town in Espírito Santo state. A study carried out by the CNM in 3,600 towns and cities showed that only 20% of the municipal governments surveyed for the study were sufficiently prepared for climate change and the prevention of disasters. As well as citing technical limitations to climate adaptation, 68% of the municipalities surveyed stated that they did not receive climate funding from state governments and the federal government. The legislation proposes the creation of a climate fund which is separate from the federal government’s general budget, as the CNM has argued that the traditional model of transferring federal funds to local authorities “has not produced adequate results”.