Company: BCDRF
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0000891478-25-000054
Chunk: 63

Company: Banco Santander, S.A.
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 20-F
Chunk 63
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. According to Observatório do Clima the main sources of emissions are land-use change (46%), particularly deforestation, followed by the agricultural sector (25%), a sector that plays a crucial role in the national economy and is vital for global food security. A significant part of the deforestation is illegal and driven by property speculation in public lands. According to Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), 50% of the Brazilian Amazon deforestation occurs on public land, especially in undesignated public forests. These forests are easy targets for land grabbers and illegal exploitation due to poorly defined tenure rights. In recognizing the importance of its biomes, the Brazilian government created and passed the Brazilian Forest Code in 1965 and revised it in 2012. It is one of the world’s strictest environmental laws, establishing the necessary protection percentage for each of the country's biomes. As strict as the Code is, the main challenge lies in its implementation. A lack of effective adherence and enforcement has led to illegal deforestation and environmental degradation over the years. Addressing GHG emissions and biodiversity protection in Brazil requires a multilateral approach that includes strengthening the implementation of environmental laws, continuously promoting sustainable agricultural practices, and improving monitoring and transparency.

15 High risk geographies are every country in Africa, plus Argentina (Chaco, Formosa, Santiago del Estero, Salta and Tucumán only), Bolivia, Brazil (the Legal Amazon and the north east of the country only), Cambodia, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Madagascar, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Russia, the Solomon Islands, Thailand, Vietnam and any customer declared 'unknown'. This list will be subject to review based on the expansion of agribusiness to new geographies.

16 Sectors covered by the ESCC Risk management policy and additional tactical sectors included in the CIB Procedure, as well as other material businesses and sectors depending on the geography and local legal requirements.

Annual report 2024 56

| Contents |     | Business model and strategy |     | Sustainability statement |     | Corporate governance |     | Economic and financial review |     | Riskmanagement and compliance |

| According to the 2022 MapBiomas report, a significant portion of Brazil’s deforestation is illegal.  Illegal activity has a major environmental impact and undermines efforts to control emissions. The MapBiomas platform uses pixel-by-pixel classification of Landsat images processed