Brazil

Status under International Climate Change Law

• UNFCCC: signature (4 Jun 1992) and ratification (28 Feb 1994)
• KP: signature (29 Apr 1998) and ratification (23 Aug 2002)
  Quantified emission limitation or reduction commitment: na
• Vienna Convention: signature and ratification (18 Mar 1990)
• Montreal Protocol: signature and ratification (19 Mar 1990)
• Cancun Agreement/2020 Pledge: Reduce absolute emissions from 36.1 to 38.9 percent relative to business as usual

Federal Laws on Climate Change

Climate

• Creation of the National Policy on Climate Change (NPCC) (Law No. 12187/2009) 20 December 2009 (Portuguese) to implement UNFCCC commitments and subsume past government efforts. The NPCC is tasked with reducing GHGs to mitigate climate change, creating adaptation and conservation policies and developing a national cap and trade policy.
• National Policy on Climate Change (Decree No. 7390/2010) 9 December 2010 (Portuguese)creates regulation for Law No. 12187 Article 6 on the NPCC, National Fund on Climate Change, and Action Plans on Deforestation Prevention and Control; Article 11 on the Sector Plans (CDM and the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions); Article 12 which sets the national voluntary emission reduction commitment.
• National Fund on Climate Change (Law No. 12144/2009, Decree No. 7343) 9 December 2009, 26 October 2010 (Portuguese) directs funds for the mitigation of GHGs through research, the diffusion of technology, and the promotion of REDD⁺ projects.

Energy

• Inter-ministerial Committee on Climate Change and the National Plan on Climate Change (Decree No. 6263/2007) 21 November 2007 (Portuguese) decrees that renewable sources must constitute 80 percent of power base by 2030. The National Plan on Climate Change requires a National Energy Efficiency Action Plan that lowers electricity consumption by 10 percent by 2030 and reduces deforestation of the Amazon.
• Mandatory Biodiesel Requirement (Law No. 11097/2005) 13 January 2005 (Portuguese)mandated that diesel be 5 percent biodiesel by 2009.
• Program of Incentives for Alternative Electricity Sources (Law No. 10438/2002) 26 April 2002 (Portuguese) creates PROINFA that implements energy supply-side policies targeting wind, biomass, and small hydro energy sources financed through an increase in consumer energy bills and financing from the Brazilian National Development Bank.
• National Conservation and Rational Energy Use Policy (Federal Law No. 10294/2001) 17 October 2001 (Portuguese) requires that each year after the Executive announces the required level of energy consumption and efficiency and a Targets Program must monitor progress. It includes energy-demand side policies.

Forests and Land Use

• Forest Code (Law No. 12651) 18 October 2012 (Portuguese) creates standards for Permanent Protected Areas, regulates economic activities in forests, and restricts deforestation requiring information to be tracked in a “Rural Environmental Register.”
• Program in Support of Environmental Conservation and Program for the Promotion of Rural Productive Activity (Law No. 12512/2011) 14 October 2011 (Portuguese) creates “Green Allowance,” a payment system for people engaged in conservation activities, and a cash-transfer policy that encourages environmental and organizational capacity-building for rural families living in extreme poverty.
• Ecological-Economic Macro-zoning of the Legal Amazon (Decree No. 7378/2010) 1 December 2010 (Portuguese) establishes the Legal Amazon’s MacroZEE which proposes production strategies and environmental management and creates public monitoring evaluations.
• Amazon Fund (Decree No. 6527/2008) 1 August 2008 (Portuguese) established under the Brazilian Development Bank manages donation-based funds for projects in the Amazon guided by a Supervisory Committee composed of technical experts.
• Management of Public Forests, Brazilian Forest Service and National Fund for Forest Development (Law No. 11284) 2 March 2006 (Portuguese) mandates forest management principles based on REDD⁺policies, establishes the Brazilian Forest Service, and sets up the National Fund for Forest Development.
• National System of Conservation Units (Federal Law No. 9985/2000, Federal Decree No. 4340/2001) 18 July 2000, 22 August 2002 (Portuguese) forms a National System of Nature Conservation Units, with criteria and restrictions for the protection and sustainable use of conservation areas.

Other

• National Policy on Solid Residues (Law No. 12305/2010) 2 August 2010 (Portuguese) encourages the reduction of solid waste, sewage, and effluents and the recycling of and reuse of trash to improve sanitary conditions and reduce GHG emissions. It creates standards for the federal, state and municipal governments.

Local, State, and Regional Legislation and Initiatives

• Sao Paolo Climate Change Act (Law no. 14933) 5 June 2009 establishes principles and strategies for Sao Paolo’s mitigation of climate change.

Government Documents

• Communication to UNFCCC on Brazil’s Commitments for UNFCCC COP15 (January 2009)
• Plano Nacional de Energía – PNE 2030 (2007)
• Environmental Legislation Compendium (2010)

Factual Matters

• Brazilian Ministry of the Environment
• Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy
• Forest Code Reform
• Greenhouse Gas Inventory Data

NGO Resources

• Fórum Mudança Climáticas e Justiça Social

Secondary Sources

• Baracui, P.L., Moura, T.F., Frolich, M.F. and Sabbag, B.K., 2009. Brazil: Recent Developments in Environmental Law. Barbosa, Mussinch and Aragão Advogados. Mondaq website [URL: http://www.mondaq.com/article.asp?articleid=74154]. Accessed 7 April 2014.
• Cortez, H., 2010. Regulamentação de política nacional sobre mudança climática deve começar a sair em agosto. Ecodebate website [in Portuguese] [URL: http://www.ecodebate.com.br/2010/05/06/regulamentacao-de-politica-nacional-sobre-mudanca-climatica-deve-comecar-a-sair-em-agosto/]. Accessed 7 April 2014.
• International Energy Agency, 2011. Relation with Member Countries –Brazil. International Energy Agency website [URL: http://www.iea.org/country/m_country.asp?COUNTRY_CODE=BR]. Accessed 7 April 2014.
• Sant’Anna, L.F.H., Spitzeck, M.H., Rabinovici, J., n.d. Environment – Brazil. Latin Lawyers website [URL: http://www.latinlawyer.com/reference/article/40585/brazil/]. Accessed 9 April 2014.
• Yanko Marcius De Alencar Xavier & Pedro Lucas De Moura Soares, Brazil, in CLIMATE CHANGE LIABILITY, 606-26 (Richard Lord et al. eds., Cambridge University Press 2011)

Updated as of: April 1, 2014