Brazil faces billions in losses as climate change hits cattle and industry

Brazil's cattle sector and broader industries are confronting severe financial impacts from climate change. A 2024 drought, intensified by El Niño, and forest fires caused losses of R$ 14.7 billion to agriculture, with R$ 8 billion directly tied to cattle and pastures. Producers are increasingly turning to confinement systems to maintain herd productivity, a shift described by Bruno Nolasco of Belgo Arames as necessary to “adjust management and preserve performance.”

A separate study by the National Industry Confederation (CNI) warns that each 0.1 °C rise in global average temperature could cost the Brazilian economy up to R$ 5.6 billion. The report, presented at the “Resilient Industry” event, notes more than 16,000 extreme climate events recorded between 2020 and 2023—half of them droughts—pressuring companies to integrate climate adaptation into strategic planning. CNI’s natural resources manager Mario Augusto Cardoso emphasized the need for risk‑contingency plans to protect supply chains and competitiveness.