On June 5th 2023, World Environmental Day, the Brazilian Government published five decrees seeking to strengthen national efforts towards the decarbonization of the economy and tackling climate change:
- Decree No. 11,546/2023: creates the National Council for the 30th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”), which will be hosted by Brazil (city of Belém) in 2025.
- Decree No. 11,547/2023: creates the Technical Committee for a Low Carbon Industry, responsible for articulating efforts of environmental authorities, public and private entities, to implement, monitor and revise public policies, initiatives and projects seeking industry decarbonization.
- Decree No. 11,48/2023: establishes the REDD+ National Commission, which will coordinate, monitor and revise the National Strategy for REDD+ to provide for guidelines and requirements for accessing results-based payments under the UNFCCC.
- Decree No. 11,549/2023: modifies Decree No. 9,578/2018, which establishes the National Fund for Climate Change (“FNMC”). The new amendment provides that the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (“BNDES”) can authorize other financial institutions and fintechs to provide financing using the FNMC’s funds.
- Decree No. 11,550/2023: provides for the Climate Change Interministerial Committee and revokes Decree No. 11,075/2022, which had been published under former President Bolsonaro’s government and sought to create the National Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction System (see here).
In addition to these decrees, the Ministry of Agriculture initiated a public consultation process, which will last for 60 days, in connection with a draft proposal for the National Program on Decarbonized Agricultural Supply Chains. Its focus is to set out guidelines and requirements for certifying GHG emissions reductions in the Brazilian agricultural supply chains, enabling the generation of related offsets.
The Environmental and Climate Change Team of Tauil & Chequer Advogados in association with Mayer Brown is available for further information.