Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and U.S. President Barack Obama made headlines last month in announcing jointly that their countries, which rank among the world’s top 10 carbon emitters, had set bilateral targets to promote non-hydroelectric renewable power sources. In the aftermath, however, environmental and renewable-energy experts are asserting that in Brazil’s case the pledges, made during a state visit by Rousseff to Washington, were far less ambitious than advertised. In a joint news conference June 30, the second day of a state visit Rousseff made to Washington, Obama called the goals “very ambitious,” and Brian Deese, one of his senior advisors, told reporters: “This is a big deal.” But critics contend the central pledge—to generate 20% of power from non-hydroelectric renewable... [Log in to read more]