BRASILIA, March 17, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Brazilian leaders unveiled a new national climate plan Monday that prioritizes enhanced forest protections as a key strategy in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Latin American giant hasn't updated its main program to mitigate climate change since 2008, and the new plan looks forward to 2035, when Brazil is expected to have lowered its emissions significantly.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's leftist government has called for a reduction of greenhouse gases by 67 percent compared to 2005 levels.

Forty percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil are generated by trees being razed, often to clandestinely create more agricultural land, Brazilian officials said.

Lula has pledged to reduce deforestation to zero by 2030.

Brazil has been hit by extreme weather disasters in recent years, including floods, fires and droughts, which experts link to climate change.

"We are living through a very serious situation of climate emergency," Environment and Climate Change Minister Marina Silva told reporters.

Claudio Angelo, of the NGO network Climate Observatory, applauded the new Brazilian plan because it "begins to address the thorny issue of how to finance" its climate targets.

However, the plan falls "far short of delivering the economic transformation needed" in Brazil, when it comes to limiting global warming to 1.5C.