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This study addresses the problem of defining the scope and substance of the climate adaptation policy, which operates with comprehensive objectives and engages with multiple meanings, policy tools, and sectors to allow societies to cope with the effects of climate change. Analyzing the design of Brazil's National Adaptation Plan sheds light on the main goals and tools of the country's adaptation strategy for the rural sector and its divergent policy approaches at distinct subnational levels. This study shows that the government's ambition for promoting change drove the design process by mainstreaming climate adaptation goals into well-established development agendas, but it resulted in the layering of existing sector-based instruments. The Plan became a mix of loosely coordinated and inconsistent strategies, lacking a common implementation approach. Thereby, this analysis provides insight into the politics of adaptation policies and the challenges of promoting policy integration in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comparative analysis of several climate litigation actions that demanded positive regulatory impacts is presented. Topics covered include reasons for considering the actions in these cases as emblematic, viability of a lawsuit to oblige the state of São Paulo, Brazil to implement measures needed to comply with the guidelines for mitigating emissions of greenhouse gases as expressed in the Climate Change Policy of the State of São Paulo and cases of climate litigation.

This paper assesses the effects of public policies on the occurrence of natural disasters related to extreme rainfall. By using a unique and geolocated database on natural disasters in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, I test whether variables related to public policies - e.g. forest cover and urban infrastructure - affect the occurrence of natural disasters, conditional on the existence of extreme rainfall. Results point to a significant role for public policies in order to mitigate effects of extreme weather events. More specifically, results point to an important role for urban infrastructure, as proper sewage and waste collection, and forest cover in reducing the impacts of extreme rainfall. Moreover, I discuss how these heterogeneous effects have distributional consequences and can be linked to the Environmental Justice literature. Finally, this paper reinforces the idea that adaptation policies to disasters are essential in reducing local vulnerabilities and can yield distributional and fiscal benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of public policies have emerged worldwide as a response from governments facing climate change effects, drawing the attention of the scientific community to the outcomes and actual effects/benefits these policies have brought so far. One of the challenging aspects related to this context is the integration of the objectives set by climate change policies within the sectoral and regional planning. In this respect, the literature recognizes the relevance of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) as an instrument to deal with climate change issues in the planning process and to support the development of alternatives to respond to climate change policies. The influence of climate change policies on the plans and programs supported by SEA in emerging economies is yet to be verified. The paper relies on the case of Brazil, recognized by its relevance in terms of biodiversity, water resources and climate regulation. In 2009, Brazil introduced the National Policy of Climate Change (NPCC), which established guidelines to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) by 2020. The present paper is based on the analysis of the current SEA practice and the corresponding level of integration of climate change issues, considering the objectives of the NPCC. A set of 29 statements, delivered by the literature, was applied, combined to the content analysis techniques to review the quality of 35 SEA reports produced in Brazil between 1997 and 2014 (out of 40-odd cases). The outcomes indicate the performance is similar to what was found in other contexts, i.e., SEA areas barely address climate change issues. This thus reveals an important gap between the objectives of NPCC and sectoral/regional planning. SEA can contribute to reducing this gap, but it needs more strength to influence the development of sectoral and regional policies and plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To what extent citizens are willing not only to support ambitious climate policy but also willing to pay for such policy remains subject to debate. Our analysis addresses three issues in this regard: whether, as is widely assumed but not empirically established, willingness to support (WTS) is higher than willingness to pay (WTP); whether the determinants of the two are similar; and what accounts for within-subject similarity between WTS and WTP. We address these issues based on data from an original nationally representative survey ( N = 2500) on forest conservation in Brazil, arguably the key climate policy issue in the country. The findings reveal that WTP is much lower than WTS. The determinants differ to some extent as well, regarding the effects of age, gender, and trust in government. The analysis also provides insights into factors influencing how much WTS and WTP line up within individuals, with respect to age, education, political ideology, salience of the deforestation issue, and trust in government. Our findings provide a more nuanced picture of how strong public support for climate change policy is and a starting point for more targeted climate policy communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I analyse key statements by the Brazilian government about environmental issues during two important decades, from 1972 to 1992. I identify the specific subjects addressed by Brazilian spokespersons, and the rhetorical strategies they adopted for doing so. I conclude that these spokespersons largely adopted a defensive posture in response to mounting international pressures on a range of environmental issues, while using various rhetorical devices to highlight the positive dimension of the government's environmental policies and initiatives.In this article, I analyse key statements by the Brazilian government about environmental issues during two important decades, from 1972 to 1992. I identify the specific subjects addressed by Brazilian spokespersons, and the rhetorical strategies they adopted for doing so. I conclude that these spokespersons largely adopted a defensive posture in response to mounting international pressures on a range of environmental issues, while using various rhetorical devices to highlight the positive dimension of the government's environmental policies and initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical forest conservation is considered a low-cost option for climate change mitigation. But mitigation cost assessments have featured opportunity costs, neglecting policy implementation costs. Here we use official data to identify the Brazilian federal government's operational and institutional budgets related to forest conservation policies implemented from 2000 to 2014. We distinguish the allocated and executed budgets of these policies, and provide scenario-based estimates of their cost-effectiveness. On average, Brazil spent US$ 1 billion/year on forest conservation policies at the federal level. Brazil's substantial reduction in annual forest loss after 2004 was accompanied by a higher operational budget execution of disincentive-based policy instruments, and an absolute increase in both allocated and executed institutional budgets. The post-2004 successful mitigation effort represented additional implementation costs to the Brazilian federal government of US$ 308–923/ha of avoided deforestation, or US$ 0.87–2.60/tCO 2 of avoided emissions. Factoring in also approximate municipal and state expenditures, these costs increase to US$ 385–1153/ha or US$ 1.09–3.25/tCO 2 . We conclude that implementations costs are non-trivial in size, including compared to estimates of land users' opportunity costs. This has important implications for REDD + policy design, in the sense that implementation costs need to be adequately considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper updates the SCVI (Socio-Climatic Vulnerability Index) maps developed by Torres et al. () for Brazil, by using the new Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) projections and more recent 2010 social indicators data. The updated maps differ significantly from their earlier versions in two main ways. First, they show that heavily populated metropolitan areas - namely Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Salvador, Manaus, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo - and a large swath of land across the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Bahia now have the highest SCVI values, that is, their populations are the most vulnerable to climate change in the country. Second, SCVI values for Northeast Brazil are considerably lower compared to the previous index version. An analysis of the causes of such difference reveals that changes in climate projections between CMIP3 and CMIP5 are responsible for most of the change between the different SCVI values and spatial distribution, while changes in social indicators have less influence, despite recent countrywide improvements in social indicators as a result of aggressive anti-poverty programs. These results raise the hypothesis that social reform alone may not be enough to decrease people's vulnerability to future climatic changes. Whereas the coarse spatial resolution and relatively simplistic formulation of the SCVI may limit how useful these maps are at informing decision-making at the local level, they can provide a valuable input for large-scale policies on climate change adaptation such as those of the Brazilian National Policy on Climate Change Adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fake controversies have influenced policy making on health and environmental issues for decades, resulting in major implementation setbacks worldwide. As a case study, in this paper we examine fake controversies produced by a small group of active Brazilian researchers that have seriously impacted environmental conservation, particularly in issues related to deforestation and climate change. Based on the literature, we develop a typology of strategies deployed in fake controversies, which include manufacturing uncertainty, misusing scientific credentials, and disregarding scientific literature. Afterwards, we examine the influence of this group of contrarians at the National Congress. We then analyze the fake controversies promoted by these contrarians and argue that, to properly understand them, we need to consider a strategy so far overlooked in the literature: the manufacture of "pseudo-facts", namely, affirmations at odds with the established literature but that strives to appear as scientific facts. Unlike other contexts, in which contrarians have mainly sought to cast doubt on consensual issues by arguing that there are still considerable uncertainties surrounding them, in Brazil pseudo-facts on deforestation have been produced and published outside the peer-reviewed literature. We conclude the study with recommendations on how to oppose fake scientific controversies that threaten environmental conservation in general. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an enquiry into Brazil's evolving responses to global climate change norms. Following an overview of the evolution of international normative frameworks of climate change governance, I examine the relationship between some of these international norms and domestic environmental politics in Brazil. Internationally, the analysis focuses on the North/South political debate about climate change and its role in shaping understandings about the impact and responses to global warming. Domestically, I explore the evolving relationship between state and private actors in the decision-making process. I argue that Brazil's official position on climate change negotiations is currently influenced by a nationalist/developmental approach based on the particular worldview of the dominant faction within the foreign ministry and backed up by private groups, powerful sectors in the military establishment, key ministries, and the presidency. Yet, this worldview has been increasingly undermined/permeated by other state and nonstate actors, who are more closely aligned with the environmental concerns of international stakeholders. The ensuing domestic conflict has important implications for the legitimacy and coherence of the Brazilian position in international climate change negotiations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two main drivers shape the global governance of climate change: "climate power" and climate commitment. Climate power refers to the level of influence of certain agents over the climate social outcome at the systemic level. Climate commitment recalls the fact that the logic of global climate governance is also defined by the interaction of reformist and conservative forces, with the former willing to take post-sovereigntist measures to tackle the crisis, and the latter resisting any major changes in the way business is conducted. This article analyses the role of Brazil in global climate governance, considering both climate power and climate commitment. It argues that the country transitioned from a conservative great climate power to a moderate conservative position over the last decade, based on three pillars: reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the adoption of domestic climate policies, and a shift in its international standing on the issue. However, since 2011 the process has stalled and partially reversed. The aim of this article is to address that transformation and explore its perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper addresses the issue of whether – in line with the Chinese economic approximation to Latin America during the last decade – the region has experienced political changes in terms of countries' foreign policies, shifting their traditional alignment with the positions of the regional hegemon, the United States. Given this general focus, the research project focuses on evaluating a specific issue of global governance: climate change policy. Here I find a marked difference between the Chinese and the US position, constituting two opposing poles between which Latin American countries must operate. I consider the cases of two countries, Brazil and Chile, in terms of their discursive location between China and the United States on global climate change policy. I was able to identify discursive changes throughout the decade that suggest a political alignment of the two Latin American countries with China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the Brazilian position on forests and climate change from 1997 to 2012. It argues that it has evolved from a veto, which excluded from the climate change regime emissions from the conversion of native forests, to a proposition, as Brazil offered its approach to the international community. It explains the change with domestic developments: governance over deforestation, the emergence of new and relevant actors, and presidential diplomacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With regards to the debate about governance of climate change, it should be assumed that the Amazon region plays an important role, as this large area is highly vulnerable to its effects. In this sense, this article aims to discuss how some Amazonian municipalities of Brazil have been taking part in the complexes and multilayered processes of climate governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The state of São Paulo, the most populous state in Brazil with 40 million people, is leading the way in Brazilian environmental policies. This article discusses the implications this has particularly for climate change policies. Located in the southeast part of the country, far from the Amazon rainforest, São Paulo state has adopted policies and actions that are leading to effective improvements in the quality of air and to the partial recovery of the original Atlantic rainforest, and that promote sustainable practices for ethanol production from sugarcane. Compared to the state of São Paulo, Brazil as a whole faces a considerably different situation, with the federal and the state governments having chosen different pathways for addressing the challenges posed by climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The majority of existing crop growth models has been developed for temperate or subtropical regions and for high input cropping systems. However, climate, soil and management systems are quite different in tropical regions. Therefore, crop growth models in tropical regions require extended testing under a range of climatic, soil and management conditions. Multi-location calibration and validation of the EPIC (Environmental Policy Integrated Climate) model for maize production has been carried out using data sets from 22 sites in the semi-arid and sub-humid tropics in West Africa and North-East Brazil. The data sets originated from field experiments on research stations as well as on-farm trials with various treatments over one to four cropping seasons. The calibration procedure revealed the necessity to distinguish between local and improved varieties and to take into account specific parameterization requirements of hydromorphic soils influenced by groundwater or water-logging. Validation with grain yield data from 141 cropping seasons proved to be satisfactory with a mean error (ME) of 0.01tha−1 and a mean relative error (MRE) of 4%. However, the coefficient of determination for the regression between simulated and observed maize yields was quite low with a R 2-value of 0.69. Detailed analysis of the validation data set showed that model performance depends partially on soil acidity, with the poorest R 2-value of 0.40 on highly acidic soils with aluminum saturation of more than 35% (Alumi-Haplic Acrisols, Ferralsols and Ferralic Cambisols). When data of the other sites were pooled the R 2-value of the regression between simulated and observed maize yields was 0.79, which means that the model explained about 80% of the variance in crop yield. It is concluded that upscaling of the model to the regional scale requires the quantification of the usage of improved varieties and information about the extent of highly acid soils in the target region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article discusses the dismantling of various governmental agencies devoted to the study of climate change by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonsaro. The author comments on the appointment of several government officials who are known climate change deniers. Despite these setbacks, the Ministry of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communication, the office that monitors climate change and greenhouse gas emissions, is still in operation.