Brazil's disaster spending outpaces prevention, driving call for green budgets

A new study highlights that Brazil spends roughly three times more on disaster response than on preventive measures. The analysis notes the creation of the country's first Civil Defense in 1966 after widespread landslides and floods, and cites the 2011 tragedy in Rio de Janeiro's Serrana region that killed over 900 people as a catalyst for later institutions such as Cemaden and the National Civil Defense Policy.

The 2024 floods in Rio Grande do Sul exemplify the gap between known risks and action, forcing the state to allocate an additional R$ 3 billion for emergency relief. Researchers estimate that each R$ 1 invested in climate‑related prevention could avoid up to R$ 7 in disaster losses. The report, prepared by the National Committee of State Finance Secretaries (Comsefaz) with support from the Celso Furtado International Center, proposes “green budgets” that integrate climate risk into fiscal planning, prioritize adaptation, and improve monitoring of environmental spending.

Challenges include a lack of standardized accounting, limited technical capacity in local finance teams, and political preferences for short‑term, election‑driven projects. As one expert warned, “Não nos preparamos para o El Niño. Ele vai chegar com força total…”.