ENVIRONMENT | RIO AMENDS ITS STATE POLICY ON CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Law No. 9,072, which amends the State Policy on Climate Change and Sustainable Development, versed in Law No. 5,690/2010, was published on 28 October 2020 in the Rio de Janeiro’s Official Gazette.
The law elects the state’s transition to a circular economy as a new objective, based on the migration to a clean energy matrix. Its purpose is to overcome the challenges and impacts caused by climate change and reduce the state’s vulnerability. A State Plan on climate change will have to be drafted in the period of one year, implementing and updating goals to mitigation and adaptation.
The state’s policy will also need to be aligned with the concepts, goals and objectives that are specified in the Brazilian Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) (established by the Paris Agreement of 2015), with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and with the UN´s 2030 Agenda and with the international conventions about Forests and Biodiversity.
The guidelines in the transport, waste, civil engineering, industry, agriculture and livestock, and forest environment sectors were altered as well. One example is the introduction of a state’s catalog of public procurements with materials and sustainable lists that represent less greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the civil engineering sector, and the incentive in building sustainable structures. Services (e.g.: hospitals, hotels and supermarkets, among others) and tourism sector were also included, meaning they will have to adapt to a low carbon economy as well. Source: Official Gazette of the State of Rio de Janeiro of October 28, 2020, Year XLVI, No. 200, part 1, Executive Power.
