Trade facilitation and decarbonisation topped the agenda as IRU’s Secretary General met with Brazil’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative in Geneva.
IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto and H.E. Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota, the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Brazil in Geneva, engaged in high-level talks this week, with a particular focus on how to accelerate Brazil’s accession to the United Nations TIR Convention
TIR is a proven enabler of trade, streamlining transport and transit while fulfilling 80% of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement. Brazil’s accession to TIR will significantly facilitate trade with neighbouring countries, regional integration, and connectivity to global markets, particularly in light of the Bioceanic Corridor – a transformative 3,320km road corridor set to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Chile.
IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto said, “Brazil can count on IRU’s more than 75 years of experience and practical support in its efforts to drive trade, economic growth and sustainability.”
With COP30 taking place in Brazil this year, Umberto de Pretto highlighted the road transport sector's commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 with the IRU Green Compact. The Green Compact provides a practical and achievable framework for decarbonisation, ensuring that the sector can continue to meet growing transport demand while reducing emissions.
Umberto de Pretto also offered IRU’s assistance to the Brazilian government to ensure that COP30 would focus on pragmatic measures that can already be implemented today, such as eco-trucks and eco-driving, to reduce the sector’s CO2 emissions, rather than only talk about future ambitions.
The IRU Green Compact’s dual approach to decarbonising road transport leverages both efficiency measures to drive immediate efficiency wins, reducing CO2 emissions by 50% with available technologies, and alternative fuels, including biofuels, over the longer term.