The National Plan for Climate Change to be elaborated by the Brazilian government is much welcome, though it should have been done and implemented long ago, say activists. In charge of formulating the plan is a committee made up of representatives from 16 ministries and from the Brazilian Climate Change Forum, an official body with participation by civil society. They have until the end of April 2008.

The initiative is a good thing, but it comes “13 years behind schedule” with respect to Brazil's ratification of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, says Rubens Born, coordinator of the non-governmental group Vitae Civilis, dedicated to climate issues.

There are also other similar bodies, including an inter-ministerial commission that has operated since 1999, he added.

The plan should include “measurable objectives” in order to be relevant, Born said. “The economy has goals, so the environment should have them too.”