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4 CCLR 271 (2010)
Brazil's Policy on Climate Change: Recent Legislation and Challenges to Implementation

handle is hein.journals/cclr2010 and id is 277 raw text is: CCLR 312010 Brazil's Policy on Climate Change 271 Brazil's Policy on Climate Change: Recent Legislation and Challenges to Implementation Natascha Trennepohl* Brazil has recently approved its National Policy on Climate Change and set greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets for 2020. Central characteristics of this policy and obstacles to its implementation are described in this article, starting with a short overview of Brazil's GHG emissions and energy matrix, as well as some pioneering programs that have helped reduce GHG emissions. The adoption of this policy shows a major shift in the country's attitude toward GHG emissions; however, there are still important challenges in its implementation that need to be overcome. 1. Introduction The latest climate bill signed by Brazilian President Luiz Indcio Lula da Silva in 2009 has attracted the attention of the press and Brazil's environmental community. This is not surprising, given that the law suggests the attitude of Brazil relative to cli- mate change has significantly changed. It provides a legal basis for the National Policy on Climate Change (Politica Nacional sobre Mudanga do Clima, or PNMC) and Brazil's international commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The latter was publicized a few weeks prior to the Fifteenth Con- ference of the Parties (COP-15) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Copenhagen, and has been stated in Brazil's formal submission of January 2010 under the terms of the Copenhagen Accord.' * Natascha Trennepohl is a lawyer and environmental consultant in Brazil. She is currently completing her Ph.D. at the Faculty of Law, Humboldt University, Berlin. She is a Research Fellow at the Earth System Governance Project, a core project of the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP), and she is a member of Brazil's Voluntary Carbon Market Study Committee (established by ABNT). 1 Decision 2/CP.1 5, Copenhagen Accord, UN Doc. FCCC/CP/2009/ 11/Add.1, 18 to 19 December 2009. 2 See Brazil's submission N 5, Communications received from Par- ties in relation to the listing in the chapeau of the Copenhagen Accord, available on the Internet at: <unfccc.int/files/meetings/ application/pdf/brazilcphaccord-app2.pdf> (last accessed on 30 June 2010). Previously, Brazil, along with other emerging economies, had insisted that developing countries must receive financial assistance to implement mit- igation actions. In doing so, Brazil cited the princi- ple of common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) contained in the UNFCCC text as well as the historic responsibility of industrialized coun- tries for current concentrations of GHG in the atmosphere. However, during COP-15, President Lula emphasized Brazil's domestic commitment to reducing GHG emissions and, even more surpris- ingly, declared that Brazil would financially support developing countries if necessary. Brazil further demonstrated the need for compromise by playing a leadership role during the final day of COP-15, culminating in the Copenhagen Accord, earning substantial praise. It is clear, however, that Brazil will not entirely discard the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. Brazil's Copen- hagen Accord submission2 incorporates a reference to CBDR and states the voluntary nature of the pro- posed actions. Prior to an analysis of this recent legislation on climate change and the challenges raised by its implementation, this article sets out a short overview of Brazil's energy matrix and emissions profile, followed by a few examples of early initia- tives adopted to reduce GHG emissions. Thus, this article will address the following: Brazil's emissions and energy profiles, as well as initial programs related to the reduction of GHG emissions; the main characteristics of the National Policy on Cli- mate Change; key challenges to the implementa- CCLR 3|2010 Brazil's Policy on Climate Change | 271

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