ADVOCACY
MINAS GERAIS: A BEACON FOR GLOBAL INVESTMENT Record-breaking investments and sustainable development are driving prosperity in Minas Gerais.
T he state of Minas Gerais has been breaking record after record in attracting private investments from many dif- ferent countries around the world. One of the factors behind this suc- cess is the management model adopted bythestategovernment,whichisfocused on responsible development and guided by serious and effective administration, andgoodESGpractices,withtheultimate goal of prosperity and improvement in the quality of life of its inhabitants. In recent years, Minas Gerais has attracted, on average, investments of around R$80 billion annually (US$14.66 bil- lion). These are record amounts that demonstrate an ever-increasing inter- est in a place that has so much to offer. One of its main policies that has con- tributed to this is the incentive for clean energy sources. The state currently has the largest reserve of niobium in the world and the largest reserve of lithium in Brazil, which is why the successful Vale do Lítio (Lithium Valley) pro- ject was created. This project has been
attracting billions’ worth of invest- ments, which boost not only Minas Gerais’ revenue, benefiting the state’s most needy regions, but also its eco- nomic development. It is also worthwhile to highlight the state’s intense work in the photovoltaic solarsector,ledbytheSoldeMinas(Minas Gerais Sun) project. With its imple- mentation, Minas Gerais has become a leader in the sector and a national refer- ence in adopting solar energy systems that power homes, businesses, indus- tries and rural premises. Today, 100% of the 853 municipalities in Minas Gerais have at least one photovoltaic solar energy generation unit. The goal is to achieve zero net greenhouse gas emis- sions by 2050. With such great effort and planning for responsible development, Minas Gerais has reached almost 10GW in solar energy generation, surpassing more than 150 countries. Furthermore, 99.5% of the electricity produced in the state comes from renewable sources. And Companhia Energética de Minas
Minas Gerais has reached almost 10GW of installed solar energy capacity and surpasses more than 150 countries in solar energy
Gerais (Minas Gerais Energy Company) has also been doing its part, by investing more than R$50 billion (US$9.16 billion) in 10 years (2019–2028). The work of the Minas Gerais govern- ment in making the state increasingly attractive and economically diversi- fied does not stop there. Minas Gerais is the country’s leader in coffee, milk and potato production, and the state gov- ernment, in partnership with Banco de Desenvolvimento de Minas Gerais (Minas Gerais Development Bank), has given a further boost by announc- ing R$1.4 billion (US$256.7 million) in credit for cooperatives, producers and companies in Minas Gerais agribusi- ness. This has allowed the sector to
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Financing a Just Transition
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