A Conversation with Fernando Haddad, Minister of Finance of Brazil | Global Conference 2025

Milken Institute
Milken InstituteApr 2, 2026

Why It Matters

Brazil’s integrated fiscal, digital and climate reforms create a predictable, high‑growth environment that attracts foreign capital while positioning the nation as a key architect of the emerging global carbon‑credit market.

Key Takeaways

  • Brazil targets sustainable 3% annual GDP growth through reforms.
  • New data‑center policy offers tax incentives for digital green economy.
  • Brazil pushes multilateral carbon‑credit market via PTE and TFF initiatives.
  • Infrastructure concessions and private partnerships attract billions in foreign investment.
  • COP‑30 in Brazil positions country as global climate leadership hub.

Summary

In a exclusive session of the Milken Institute’s Global Conference 2025, Brazil’s Finance Minister Fernando Haddad outlined the country’s twin agenda of sustainable economic growth and climate leadership. He emphasized Brazil’s multilateral stance, recent EU agreement, and the ambition to grow the economy at a minimum 3% annual rate during President Lula’s remaining term.

Haddad detailed a suite of reforms – a sweeping tax overhaul, a nascent carbon‑credit market, and a pre‑launch of a national data‑center policy that will exempt investments and service exports from taxes. He linked these measures to Brazil’s abundant clean‑energy capacity, noting that 90% of its electricity comes from renewable sources, and positioned them as catalysts for attracting private capital into infrastructure, logistics and new‑industry projects.

He cited concrete milestones: a unanimous G20 communiqué achieved under Brazil’s presidency, a $34 billion investment pledge announced for 2030, and the development of the Plano de Transformação Ecológica (PTE) and the Tropical Forest Forever facility to mobilize carbon‑credit financing for forest preservation. Haddad also highlighted the expansion of the BRICS bloc and Brazil’s role in shaping reforms of multilateral institutions.

For investors, the reforms signal a more predictable regulatory environment and a flood of opportunities in digital services, renewable energy, and public‑private infrastructure concessions. The upcoming COP‑30 in Belém further cements Brazil’s platform to steer global climate finance, making the country a strategic hub for sustainable capital flows.

Original Description

Fernando Haddad
Minister of Finance, The Federal Government of Brazil
Laura Deal Lacey
Executive Vice President, Milken Institute International

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