24 January 2013: The 6th EU-Brazil Summit discussed a range of issues for cooperation between the EU and Brazil, including the outcomes of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20) and the Doha Climate Change Conference, as well as renewal of the EU-Brazil strategic partnership.

The strategic partnership was initiated at the first EU-Brazil Summit in July 2007. The 6th EU-Brazil Summit, which took place in Brasilia, Brazil, on 24 January 2013, outlined common objectives between the two sides.

In the ensuing joint statement, Brazil and the EU: welcome the signature in June 2012 of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on increasing cooperation in sanitary and phytosanitary measures; reiterate their commitment to ambitious international action on climate change, emphasizing the reduced deforestation rate in the Amazone biome; and stress the importance of continued work on biodiversity under the framework of both bilateral agreements and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

On sustainable development, EU and Brazilian leaders stress the importance of implementing the outcome of Rio+20 and pledge to work on the development of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), stressing they should be coherent with and integrated post-2015 agenda. They list eradicating poverty, changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and production, and protecting and managing the natural resource base as the essential requirements for sustainable development. They also call for establishing the High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in a prompt manner.

On energy, the leaders: emphasize universal access to energy; welcome the role of renewable energy, energy efficiency and low-energy models in sustainable development; reiterate biofuels as a viable alternative to fossils fuels; and stress engagement to find solutions on emissions from the aviation sector. [VI Brazil-EU Summit Joint Statement] [EC President Press Statement] [6th EU-Brazil Summit: An Ever Closer Relationship]