The politics of climate finance in Brazil. How actors and their ideas shape institutions: the case of the Amazon Fund and the ABC Programme for Low-Carbon Agriculture.

Flossmann-Kraus, Ursula (2020) The politics of climate finance in Brazil. How actors and their ideas shape institutions: the case of the Amazon Fund and the ABC Programme for Low-Carbon Agriculture. Doctoral thesis, University of East Anglia.

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Abstract

The international climate finance landscape is characterized by complexity and fragmentation (Weikmans and Roberts 2019). Navigating institutions and donor requirements is challenging for developing countries. Establishing national climate funds can be a way to meet these challenges, ensuring the targeted use of funds and strengthening ownership. This thesis examines the establishment of two national climate funds in Brazil during the administration of the Workers’ Party (2003 – 2016), the Low Carbon Agriculture Programme and the Amazon Fund. National climate funds are embedded in political and social traditions of their country and the economic and ecological context. At the same time, it is these changes and conversions that are interesting and give rise to new institutions. By asking how actors employ ideas to influence political processes and the design of climate finance institutions in Brazil the study assesses the influence of actor constellations and discourses within their political and discursive context.

A drastic shift in climate policy enabled by discursive changes promoted by a coalition of government and civil society actors opened a window for political change and the establishment of new institutions. This shift allowed the Brazilian government to see the inefficiencies and unproductive aspect of deforestation (Carvalho 2012). Due to this process of sense- and meaning-making Brazil was able to reposition itself in domestic and international climate politics and gain international trust and financial support for its fight against deforestation. This development resulted in the creation of the world’s biggest national REDD+ fund and a large-scale low carbon agriculture subsidy programme. The two climate funds analysed in this thesis were created in the same period but show remarkable differences due to the actor constellations and discourses they are based upon. The study provides evidence of the power of ideas when strategically applied by actor constellations and aided by scientific knowledge.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Global Development (formerly School of International Development)
Depositing User:	Chris White
Date Deposited:	14 Dec 2021 09:40
Last Modified:	14 Dec 2021 09:40
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/82666
DOI:

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