“This is more than goal-setting - this is game-changing.” - USGBC

PART 3: The “Green” Brazilian Economy

Objectives:  Setting broad policy goals that will run parallel to event specific measures.  These policies will be the foundation for the execution of the “Green” Games and can serve as a “Green” policy legacy post 2016.

1. 1)A market based monetization plan for landowners (similar to the UN’s REDD “Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation,” Brazil’s “Amazon Fund,” or other) is critical to compensate farmers sufficiently so that they will protect their lands and prevent any further deforestation in the Amazon or other regions. The goal is to stop deforestation completely by 2014 and to begin reversing the trend through reforestation by 2016.  Fifty to seventy-five percent of CO2 emissions in Brazil come from deforestation in the Amazon region. This alone, places Brazil among the top 5 greenhouse gas emitters and if Brazil is serious about sustainability and reducing its Carbon Footprint this must be accomplished.  Major international sporting events hosted in Brazil simply cannot be considered “Green” until the issue of deforestation is addressed.
   

2. 2)A change to Brazil’s Procurement Law N˚8666 is needed for Public Infrastructure projects.  This law awards public bids to the construction company that offers to build the project for the lowest construction cost (to the government.)  This has led to a history of low quality, poorly designed buildings with frequent technical errors and high maintenance costs.  The N˚8666 Law has as a goal keeping project costs down and preventing over budgeting and corruption. The law, however, is outdated and proven ineffective.  A new law that would award projects to the design and construction teams that deliver the project with the lowest long-term costs (construction + maintenance costs: using 10 years perhaps, as a baseline) should be implemented as soon as possible.  Computerized energy modeling for building has advanced to the point where the technique should be embraced fully.  Binding these projects with LEED certification (serving as an independent Green Building auditor) and offering preferential financing terms (from the BNDES and other banks) linked to the successful execution of the project, would create a powerful transformation in the quality of the infrastructure built in Brazil, reducing the government’s long-term maintenance costs and overall environmental impact.
   

3. 3)Minimal Green Building guidelines, based on LEED, the US Green Building Council standard, should be implemented for the entire building industry in Brazil.  Such standards would quickly transform the design, construction and material sourcing markets reducing costs for investments in sustainable practices and products.  This would also provide the long-term visibility needed in the market and encourage the private sector to invest in Research and Development for more environmentally friendly materials and processes;
   

4. 4)The adoption of an aggressive plan to attract investment for the clean-renewable energy sector that would begin with the ratification of the IRENA (International Renewable Energy Agency) Treaty by the Brazilian Government.  This new agency created in January, 2009 is the first global body that will research and assist in setting policy for the renewable energy sector globally.  Many countries, serious about investing in renewable energy, have already signed on. Brazil is a leader in fossil-free power production due to its large installed Hydropower generating capacity (+76% of the entire electricity portfolio) and its “clean” small passenger vehicle fleet (+50% of automobiles run on biofuel, sugar cane based ethanol.)   Now, Brazil must compete for and develop technologies in emerging renewable energy sectors like wind, solar and wave (tidal) power; energy sources that are far more promising than hydropower alone.  Brazil is rich in each of these resources, with an extensive coastline, abundant sun exposure and wind corridors. By good fortune, months of low rainfall (weaker Hydro output) also happen to be Brazil’s windier months offering particularly good synergies between Hydro and Wind Power.  Overlapping, parallel operations can offer a superior, clean energy portfolio mix for many locations and help to preserve reservoir levels reducing overall systemic risk;
   

5. 5)Still, a responsible expansion plan for low-impact Hydropower (electricity) and Sugar Cane Ethanol (used to fuel automobiles) is needed to maintain a clean energy portfolio mix while we transition to less harmful renewable energy sources (see above).  Greater regulation is necessary though, for the sourcing of Sugar Cane Ethanol from sustainably certified farms to prevent any further deforestation related to this energy source;
   

6. 6)Decentralization of energy production and smart utility distribution is necessary to meet the growth in energy demand, increase efficiency, and to jump-start the independent energy producing market.  The future of energy is in smaller renewable energy production facilities (such as solar or wind farms) where companies, buildings and even individual households can sell clean power back to the utility grid. This will transform the market by increasing building efficiency (through on site energy production), reducing long distance transmission and improving the overall energy portfolio mix, making the system more stable and less dependent on any one source.  (Blackouts continue to be a problem in Brazil);
   

7. 7)A halt to the development of any new “dirty” (fossil fuel based) power projects, also know as the “Plano Decenal”, should take immediate effect.  These operations go against the way of the future.  Price competitive alternatives exist in the renewable energy sector with proper government incentive.  For coal plants already in operation, these should become research laboratories for carbon capturing techniques, such as with the use of algae tanks.  Fly ash, a residual of the coal burning process, should be mixed with concrete and not deposited into landfills.  Additionally, a technology research exchange program should be developed with economies that employ heavy use of this form of power generation, such as the United States and China, so that Brazilian scientists can help solve the global dependence on coal based power generation;
   

8. 8)The development and production of a Brazilian electric motor, by 2014, that will eventually replace the internal-combustion engine in a commuter-oriented automobile. Financial incentives should be created for the re-charging of these cars’ batteries at night, when the demand for energy is at its lowest point and much of the hydropower electricity that is created gets wasted.  Brazil can, and should, have the cleanest automobile fleet in the world because the energy used to power these vehicles can be sourced from renewable energy sources (currently hydropower.)  This is not the case for any of the other large developed or developing countries where most are trading the gas pump for a power socket fueled by coal or natural gas. Brazil’s head start in a largely fossil-free utility power grid and existing leadership in sugar cane based ethanol for automobiles, should inspire Brazilian scientists to move forward and become a global leader in carbon free transportation.
   

9. 9) A federal investment plan to help low-income automobile and truck drivers replace inefficient and highly polluting cars and trucks for more efficient, less polluting transport. This plan can help lower-income individuals and families save money on fuel, while bettering overall air quality and creating a Green Jobs sector for the deconstruction and recycling of materials related to the antiquated cars and trucks on Brazilian roads today.  Such a plan, was successfully executed in the United States in 2009, know as “Cash for Clunkers”;
   

10. 10) A modern cargo, freight rail system linking the major economic centers in the southern part of Brazil: primarily Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Campinas, São Paulo, Florianópolis and Porto Alegre is long-overdue.  This would alleviate significantly the truck traffic on highways, make transportation far safer for passenger vehicles, and would reduce drastically the emissions related to freight & commercial transport in Brazil.
    

11. 11)  A modern high-speed passenger rail system in the Southern part of Brazil is also in serious demand.  Plans for such a train connecting Rio de Janeiro, Campinas and São Paulo are already in planning phase and the execution of this project by 2016 would significantly alleviate airports and reduce pollution associated with air travel.
    

12. 12) An educational fund devoted specifically to the development of Clean Power and Green Technology skills among young scientists;
    

13. 13) Greater consumer protection from harmful chemicals used in food and consumer products;
    

14. 14) A sustainable farming certification program for all food sources so that deforestation can be brought under control (for example managing soybean plantations in the Amazon region);
    

15. 15) A revitalization plan for the Brazilian coastline and adjacent waters;
    

16. 16) A research initiative into atmospheric and oceanic carbon capture programs;
    

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