The Ministry of Finance promotes this Thursday (1) and Friday (2) the '1st Seminar of the PMR Brazil Project: Exploring carbon pricing instruments for Brazil', in Brasília (DF). On the first day of the event, discussions revolved around the economic theory behind pricing and some examples of jurisdictions where mechanisms of this type are already in operation.
During the opening, the general coordinator of Environment and Climate Change at the Ministry of Finance, Aloisio Melo, stated that the topic under debate at the seminar has advanced in Brazil and cited the study recently released by CEBDS – 'Carbon Pricing: what the business sector needs to know to position itself' – as an example of the maturity of this discussion in the country.
According to the representative of the Ministry of Finance, pricing is viable after 2020 and the PMR Brazil project will evolve by studying the possibilities: carbon taxation, emissions trading systems or a hybrid of the previous options.
World Bank senior specialist Cristophe Gouvello stressed the importance of studying and being cautious about the sectoral policies in force in each country. “There are convergences and conflicts between energy and carbon policies, for example,” he said.
The examples presented of jurisdictions that already have pricing were British Columbia, in Canada; California, in the USA; the European Union and Chile. According to CEBDS technical advisor Laura Albuquerque, a common point among all these experiences was the attempt to reflect the specificities of each country. “Many jurisdictions started slowly, focusing on specific sectors and, as they evolved, they expanded their instruments,” she said.
PMR is the acronym in English for the 30-country alliance “Partnership for Market Readiness”, administered by the World Bank. CEBDS is part of the advisory board of the initiative in Brazil.
The '1st Seminar of the PMR Brazil Project: Exploring carbon pricing instruments for Brazil' continues this Friday and can be followed live here.
