Eco Invest: Brazil’s Auction Will Support Bioeconomy and Sustainable Tourism Projects Focused on the Amazon
The program has already mobilized more than R$75 billion in investments for sustainable activities through innovative financial instruments
By the Ministry of Finance
The government of Brazil announced on Friday, November 14, the launch of the 4th Eco Invest Brazil Auction: Bioeconomy and Sustainable Tourism with a focus on the Amazon, during COP30. The program, led by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MMA), has already mobilized more than R$75 billion in investments for sustainable activities through innovative financial instruments.
Despite its national scope, this edition concentrates its efforts on the Legal Amazon, with the goal of boosting production chains rooted in standing forest and strengthening sectors capable of generating income, inclusion, and added value in the region.
The new auction covers bioeconomy projects, including sociobioeconomy chains, bioindustry, and ecological and productive restoration; initiatives in sustainable ecological tourism aimed at attracting international visitors; and infrastructure, restricted to the Legal Amazon, that is essential to support the development of these chains—such as decentralized renewable energy, digital connectivity, passenger transport, and logistical solutions for moving bioeconomy products.
The auction’s design seeks to develop regional markets and integrate communities, entrepreneurs, cooperatives, anchor companies, and financial institutions, creating economic environments capable of competing with activities historically associated with environmental pressure.
Finance Minister Fernando Haddad, in a video message played at the event, emphasized the initiative’s economic dimension. “Eco Invest has already mobilized more than R$70 billion, proving that it is possible to develop the real economy in a modern and sustainable way. This new edition, focused on the Amazon, shows that a standing forest generates more value and more opportunities than destruction, driving technologies and production chains tailored to the region.”
Environment and Climate Change Minister Marina Silva highlighted the initiative’s relevance for sustainable development in the country. “Through this new auction, the Brazilian government contributes to a new cycle of prosperity in the Amazon with an economy that strengthens sociobiodiversity production chains and sustainable tourism, creating opportunities that generate income, inclusion, and forest conservation,” she said.
Operation and innovations
To make these new markets viable, the auction uses a blended-finance model, in which the National Treasury lends resources to financial institutions at 1% per year, requiring that at least four times that amount be mobilized in private capital, with a minimum participation of 60% from foreign investors.
The resources may be passed on through direct credit or via funds, always combined with instruments designed to reduce risk for financiers. This edition also introduces a new feature in the financial structure: an additional incentive equivalent to 20% of the total leveraged amount, created to expand the capacity of financial institutions to mitigate risk and accelerate the maturation of the supported production chains.
Launched as a highlight of COP30, at a moment when Brazil occupies a central role in global climate negotiations, Eco Invest Brazil has attracted interest from international investors and multilateral organizations. Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Ilan Goldfajn says the new round marks the consolidation of the structure envisioned from the program’s outset. “Eco Invest Brazil completes the architecture we defined from the beginning: blended finance, liquidity provision, project-preparation support, and currency-hedge instruments. Now, the model reaches the Amazon with its full potential—mobilizing capital for bioeconomy, enabling sustainable infrastructure, and ecological tourism, with scale, integrity, and alignment with Brazil’s priorities.”
The United Kingdom’s Special Climate Envoy, Rachel Kyte, emphasized the initiative’s international relevance. “Brazil is showing how to convert natural assets into sustainable prosperity. Eco Invest reduces risks, expands markets, and demonstrates global leadership on the climate agenda.”
All documentation and details about the auction will be published on the Eco Invest Brazil Program website in the coming days. Financial institutions interested in taking part will have until early 2026 to submit their proposals.
Translation: Tadeu Azevedo (POET/UFC)
Proofreading: Michel Emmanuel Félix François (POET/UFC)