This is the third year that Época Magazine has published a list of the 100 most influential personalities in Brazil. They are people who have stood out because of their power, their talent, their achievements or their moral example. Tasso’s work has been fundamental as a basis for the Brazilian Government’s commitment to targets for the reduction of CO2 emissions at COP 15.
The names fell into six categories, depending on their area: Leaders and Reformers, Entrepreneurs & Pioneers, Artists & Creators, Guides & Thinkers, Idols & Heroes and Benefactors.
Asked about this public recognition, Tasso, partner-leader of AVINA, said: “to tell you the truth, it was a surprise, but it is really great because it shows how AVINA truly does give us a lot of momentum. I was only able to be in this position because in 2009 AVINA, in partnership with Packard, gave me the opportunity to advise the Ministry for the Environment on forests and climate, while also letting me work together with various groups in society (corporations, unions, NGOS, the media and academia) so that these groups could get mobilized towards a common objective – putting Brazil in the vanguard of the struggle to mitigate greenhouse-gas emissions”.
“The tendency with this kind of recognition is that it focuses on one person, but I believe that Suzanna Khan and Branca Americano, who are National Secretary and Drector for climate change, respectively, at the Ministry for the Environment, plus their team, should be equally recognized. It was with them that I learned, digested and evolved the content – which I then translated into a pro-climate movement during the year”, he stated.
Finally, he said that “Marina Silva and Carlos Minc also deserve enormous recognition. Marina because she visualized and implemented the seed from which all this grew now, and Minc because he bravely faced everything we could throw at him all through the year”.
The list was drawn up by the editors, with the help of thousands of readers (who put forward names at epoca.com.br) and specialists from the various areas.
AVINA’s Strategy Supervisor for the Amazon Biome, Carlos Miller, was consulted on the choice of name. The team chose Tasso, partner-leader of AVINA, and he finally made it to the 100 names on the list.
Asked about the choice, Carlos said that “Tasso Azevedo has defined much of Brazil’s forest policy and has been working as a special adviser at the Ministry for the Environment, dealing with climate change. He was behind the Amazonia Fund – the greatest support mechanism for REDDs (Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation) worldwide, with US$1 billion donated by the Norwegian Government for the upkeep of forests”.
A second list of movers and shakers was invited to write an introduction to the personalities on Época’s list. These authors were selected on the basis of their affinity with those on the list or their field of action. They offered a unique and privileged view of the 100 most influential Brazilians of 2009.
The text introducing Tasso was written by another partner-leader of AVINA, Adalberto Veríssimo, a researcher at the Amazon Institute of People and the Environment (Imazon).