The Floor approved, on Tuesday (27th), the Bill 18/07, of Deputy Sarney Filho (PV-MA), which institutes the National Policy on Climate Change. The proposal aims to reduce the emission of gases and implement measures of adaptation to the climate changes provoked by the global heating. The Bill still has to be voted by the Senate.

The proposal is maintained since last year, but became urgent due to the proximity of the new international round of negotiations on the reduction of greenhouse effect gases, scheduled for December, in Copenhagen, Denmark. The text was approved as a substitute of the special committee, elaborated by Deputy Antonio Carlos Mendes Thame (PSDB-SP).

One of the amendments made by Thame includes the establishment of environmental standards and quantifiable targets for reducing and removing greenhouse gases as an instrument for implementing this policy. These goals should be verifiable.

Another innovation is the use of differentiated criteria in public bidding to promote products and services which mean greater power and water saving as well as reduction of gas emission.

The approved text was based on Bill 3535/08, of the Executive Branch, which is maintained together with the project of Deputy Sarney Filho, for whom the substitute needs improvements. “The text was the one possible to approve”, he stated.

Carbon market
To put the policy into practice, a National Plan on Climate Change will be elaborated. Its accomplishment will rely on resources from a homonymous fund, of specific lines of credit and financing and with fiscal and tax measures.

Funds provided in the Union Budget and in mechanisms created in the scope of the convention of the United Nations Organization (UNO) on climate change and in the Kyoto Protocol, which defined goals in the emission of carbon by the developed countries.

One of the mechanisms is the so called carbon market, by which countries with reduction goals to achieve can buy “carbon credits” paying for projects which promote the removal of gases containing such chemical element from the atmosphere. Thus, they may capture carbon instead of reducing the emission itself.

This works mainly with the expansion of vegetation, but other techniques are also used. The price of the ton of carbon varies from nine to twelve dollars in the international market.

Mendes Thame defines that carbon credits are negotiable securities in stock and commodities and futures exchanges.

Fossil fuel
The gradual replacement of fossil fuels (oil, coal) by renewable energies is also provided in the substitutive. According to the text, this will occur with the increasing participation of the energy of small hydroelectric centrals in the national power matrix.

Incentive shall be given to the production of biofuels, to the production of wind, sun and biomass power, and to the use of solar power for water heating. In order to make this incentive feasible, Mendes Thame provides, for example, differential tax treatment to the equipment allocated to the generation of energy by renewable sources.

Sectorial plans
To achieve an economy of low carbon consumption, sectorial plans shall be elaborated, destined to divide the global goal of reduction of the greenhouse effect gases.

These plans enclose several areas, such as the urban public transports, transformation industries, durable goods and chemicals. Civil construction, pulp and paper industry, mining sector and agriculture and cattle raising shall yet be enclosed.

Guidelines
The substitute lists thirteen guidelines, including the adoption of actions to alleviate the effects of the climate change in compliance with the sustainable development; the promotion of international cooperation to develop and spread gas reduction technologies; support and incentive to sustainable standards of production and consumption.

One amendment of Deputy Arnaldo Jardim (PPS-SP), attached to the text, establishes the commitments made by Brazil as one of the guidelines in further documents on the issue, in addition to those already effective by means of the UNO convention on climate change and of Kyoto Protocol.

Reporting – Eduardo Piovesan/SR
Translation - Grupo Solucion-SP Language/Thiago Capatti