Page 20 - Respond 2019 Magazine

/ Rolim, Viotti & Leite Campos

The RenovaBio program:

Brazil’s public policy to

achieve the Paris climate

change agreement goals

By Dr. Maria João and Ana Paula Chagas, Rolim, Viotti & Leite Campos

n overview of a Brazilian energy scenario indicates that: there is a significant
share of renewables in the energy mix, notwithstanding there is also great
space to improve the participation of clean sources in the country’s energy
Amix. Currently, although most of the electricity generated in Brazil comes from
clean sources , 36.5% of Brazilian energy mix still comes from oil and its derivatives,
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making Brazil the 7th largest oil consumer in the world . The introduction of biofuels into
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the Brazilian energy mix was initially implemented as a way to reduce the dependence
on oil, the source potential for combating the socio-environmental challenges ahead,
to be seen later as a positive side effect.

In this context, given that the country more holistic, aiming at transforming
is one of the signatories of the Climate the positive externalities generated by
Change Convention and of the Paris biofuels production into incentives to
Agreement with targets regarding the develop sustainable methods of producing
reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, bioenergy.
the Brazilian Government instituted the The program is comprised of two main
RenovaBio Program in 2017.
instruments, as described below, that
RenovaBio is a policy that seeks to shall be interconnected by the issuance
encourage the growth of the biofuels share and sale on the Brazilian stock exchange
in the energy mix in order to fulfill the (IBOVESPA) of Decarbonization Credits by
targets established at the Climate Change Biofuels (Créditos de Descarbonização por
Convention 21 of Paris and to safeguard Biocombustíveis - CBIOs) :
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the Brazilian fuel market predictability, i) Establishment of national targets
improving energy security in line with regarding the reduction of emissions
sustainability demands.
for the fuel matrix, defined for a 10
Biofuels have a strategic position in year-term. The national targets shall be
reducing the use of fossil fuels as well as unfolded into individual annual targets,
in diversifying the Brazilian energy mix mandatory for all fuel distributors, in
contributing significantly to the reduction accordance with their participation in
of greenhouse gas emissions. the fossil fuel market. Thus, in order to
achieve the individual targets, the fuel
Established by means of the Federal distributors are obliged to acquire the
Law no. 13.576/2017 it is interesting to decarbonization credits.
note that, contrary to other programs,
the RenovaBio does not rely on creating ii) Certification of the production
a tax on carbon emissions, subsidies, regarding biofuels, by private inspection
tax credit or a volumetric command for companies. Different grades shall be
adding biofuels to fuels. The focus is assigned to each production unit, in

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