AlQa'dah 05, 1436, August 20, 2015, SPA -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday focused her messages on the need for free trade and environmental protection during a trip to global economic giant Brazil, according to dpa. In the South American nation, currently facing a sharp economic slowdown as well as a major political crisis, Merkel said her aim was to improve conditions for German investment. "We need reliable investment conditions," Merkel said before her official meetings in the capital, Brasilia. "German companies want to invest even more in Brazil." Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said her country wants to gradually abandon fossil fuels like the more industrialized nations of the so-called G-7. In order to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius in average global temperatures compared to 1990, alternatives must be found to coal, oil and natural gas, Rousseff said at the end of the first round of German-Brazilian consultations. The proposed limit of a 2-degree increase in average global temperatures compared to 1990 will be discussed in December in Paris at a global climate summit. Merkel praised this position as a major sign that an ambitious agreement on global climate can be reached at a climate summit scheduled to take place in Paris in December. "Brazil has taken a big step," Merkel said. Brazil plans to reduce its CO2 emissions by 36 per cent by 2020, Rousseff said, and she promised to eliminate deforestation in the Amazon rainforest completely by 2030. Environmental organizations including the World Wild Life Fund for Nature (WWF) have expressed in recent days concerns that Brazil might sacrifice environmental efforts for the sake of economic growth amid pressures from farming and mining lobbies. Brazil generates over 70 per cent of its energy from water, and therefore suffers the increasingly tough droughts associated with climate change, Rousseff said. However, it also depends on the export of oil. The G-7 agreed in June to turn away from fossil fuels, but the group has so far gone little beyond a vague statement to that effect. Merkel said she felt the "momentum" in talks towards a free trade agreement between the European Union and the countries of Mercosur - Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela and Brazil. Rousseff is very interested in a deal and promised a formal proposal by the end of the year. The EU and Mercosur have been negotiating since 1999. Venezuela is particularly reluctant to open up its markets to foreign agricultural produce, and Merkel was looking for ways to incorporate disagreements within Mercosur. "We need to consider whether we can find ways to have different speeds," she said in Brazil. Merkel's brief visit comes at a time when Germany's key trading partner in Latin America is facing an economic turmoil marked by recession and rising inflation, which has been of particular concern to German carmakers. Brazilian media paid relatively little attention to the visiting German leader and continued to focus instead on the corruption scandal around Brazilian oil giant Petrobras. Pro-government demonstrations took place in 10 Brazilian states on Thursday, just days after hundreds of thousands of people poured into the streets to demand Rousseff's exit. Eduardo Cunha, a former ally of Rousseff turned political enemy, stressed that he had no plans to resign as speaker of the lower house of Congress despite being investigated in connection with the case. About 1,400 German companies have carved out business operations in Brazil, whose population of 200 million has become a major target of carmakers from Europe's biggest economy. The chancellor's delegation includes six ministers, industry representatives and senior government officials. However, no major contracts were expected to be signed. German exports to Brazil edged about 1 per cent higher to 11.8 billion euros (13.03 billion dollars) last year, while imports to Germany fell 7 per cent to 6.6 billion euros, the German Foreign Office said. Rousseff invited Merkel to attend the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics and drew a laugh from attendees when she mentioned the 7-1 thrashing that Germany dealt hosts Brazil in the semi-finals of the 2014 World Cup, which Germany went on to win. "In 2016, we hope to see thousands of Germans, as was the case during the World Cup. And we will make no comment about the result of any game whatsoever," Rousseff joked. Merkel was expected to fly back to Germany later Thursday.
