Climate Change Mitigation in Brazilian Law

Climate Change Mitigation in Brazilian Law

Foundations and Policies

von Ana Maria de Oliveira Nusdeo

This book examines how climate change significantly impacts the public interest of national states, affecting a wide range of human rights, economic activities, development projects, and security. This book highlights the complexity of the legal discipline of climate change, which is a polycentric phenomenon because its causes and possible responses are subject to various decision-making levels and are cumulative over time. Additionally, this book addresses the need for norm creation in a scenario of risk and scientific uncertainty, as well as the socio-political conflicts generated.

Given these factors, this book emphasizes the role of national states in the legal regulation of climate change, as, although it is a global problem, they are the ones who set emission reduction targets and regulate the behavior of individuals and corporations to achieve them. In recent years, various climate laws have been created or amended in several countries, indicating a push for juridification around the issue.

Considering this context, this book argues that the legal discipline of climate change in Brazilian law requires the legislative structuring of a national policy compatible with the constitutional foundations and international commitments undertaken by Brazil, capable of dealing with the problem in a crosscutting manner and covering various economic sectors. This book analyzes the bases for formulating this climate policy, consisting of the foundations that should underpin it.

Firstly, this book highlights that the justice aspects involved are relevant to guide the definitions of the distribution of the impacts of climate change and the measures to mitigate them. Secondly, this book addresses the protection of fundamental rights to which the state is bound, creating a duty for it to structure measures to make them effective – including regulating the behavior of individuals and corporations – and enabling judicial control in the event of violations of these duties. Lastly, this book emphasizes that the principles of environmental law must underpin the instruments of a climate policy and the interpretation of its rules.

This book examines how climate change significantly impacts the public interest of national states, affecting a wide range of human rights, economic activities, development projects, and security. This book highlights the complexity of the legal discipline of climate change, which is a polycentric phenomenon because its causes and possible responses are subject to various decision-making levels and are cumulative over time. Additionally, this book addresses the need for norm creation in a scenario of risk and scientific uncertainty, as well as the socio-political conflicts generated.

Given these factors, this book emphasizes the role of national states in the legal regulation of climate change, as, although it is a global problem, they are the ones who set emission reduction targets and regulate the behavior of individuals and corporations to achieve them. In recent years, various climate laws have been created or amended in several countries, indicating a push for juridification around the issue.

Considering this context, this book argues that the legal discipline of climate change in Brazilian law requires the legislative structuring of a national policy compatible with the constitutional foundations and international commitments undertaken by Brazil, capable of dealing with the problem in a crosscutting manner and covering various economic sectors. This book analyzes the bases for formulating this climate policy, consisting of the foundations that should underpin it.

Firstly, this book highlights that the justice aspects involved are relevant to guide the definitions of the distribution of the impacts of climate change and the measures to mitigate them. Secondly, this book addresses the protection of fundamental rights to which the state is bound, creating a duty for it to structure measures to make them effective – including regulating the behavior of individuals and corporations – and enabling judicial control in the event of violations of these duties. Lastly, this book emphasizes that the principles of environmental law must underpin the instruments of a climate policy and the interpretation of its rules.

Highlights

• Provides a comprehensive understanding of the legal principles and discipline of the Brazilian climate change law Reflects on the implications of climate justice and human rights to the legal discipline of climate change Discusses the elements domestic climate mitigation laws should contain

Über den Autor

Ana Maria de Oliveira Nusdeo holds a BA (1992), PhD (2000), and habilitation title (Brazilian Livre-docência) (2011) from the University of São Paulo (USP). She was a visiting scholar at the University of Wisconsin in 1996-97, with a grant from the Fulbright Foundation, and again in 2008. She is a Full Professor of Environmental Law in the Department of Economic, Financial and Tax Law at the University of São Paulo Law School since 2024 and has been on the faculty of the University since 2007. She chairs the National and International Cooperation Commission (CCNInt) of the Law School, of which she was vice-president from 2022 to 2026. She chaired the Culture and Extension Commission (2013/2017) and was vice-president of the FDUSP Research Commission (2018-2022).
She was a visiting professor at the University of Lyon 3, Jean Monet, in January 2023. She is an advisor to the Center for Sustainable Amazon Studies (CEAS), since 2003 and to the Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (FUNBIO) since 2021.  She represented Latin America on the Board of Directors of the International Union for the Conservancy of Nature Academy of Environmental Law (IUCNAEL) between 2018 and 2024. She was president of the Law for a Green Planet Institute (2017/2019) and is currently its Biodiversity Director. She won the Jabuti Prize (1st place in Law) in 2013 for her book Payment for Environmental Services: Sustainability and Legal Discipline (Atlas, 2012) and is the author of other works, including Strategic climate change litigation: A catalyst for the evolution of the principles of environmental law in Brazil (Revista de Derecho Ambiental, v. 21, 2024, p. 117-142), Regulatory Barriers for the implementation of Brazilian Climate Policies (In: The AFOLU Sector: Forest Code; ABC Plan and Renovabio, 1st ed., São Carlos: Pedro & João Editores, v. 1, 198p, 2023),  Adaptação às mudanças climáticas e prevenção a desastres na cidade de São Paulo (Estudos Avançados (online), v. 37, p. 263-278, 2023), The challenging increase of renewable energy use. The law as a tool for the evolution of Brazilian wind power promotion policies (Revista Espaço Público – Revista de Políticas Públicas, v. 8, p. 1-15, 2022). Her central research subject is the relationship between law, economics, and the environment, and she coordinates the “Environmental Law, Economics and Sustainability” Research Group (GPDAES), registered on the CNPQ Research Groups platform, and the “Environmental Law Workshop” research and extension activity.