Environmental Licensing for Hydroelectric Projects in Brazil : A Contribution to the Debate
This study points out that hydroelectric plants will continue to play a prominent role in the Brazilian electric matrix. A significant portion of the potential hydroelectric plants of the country is located in the Amazon, environmentally sensitive...
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| Language: | English en_US |
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Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/03/10155469/environmental-licensing-hydroelectric-projects-brazil-contribution-debate-vol-1-3-summary-report http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7854 |
| Summary: | This study points out that hydroelectric
plants will continue to play a prominent role in the
Brazilian electric matrix. A significant portion of the
potential hydroelectric plants of the country is located in
the Amazon, environmentally sensitive region. The licensing
of hydroelectric projects in Brazil is considered a major
obstacle for the expanding the capacity of generating
electricity. The non-expansion, in turn, represents a
serious threat to economic growth. This study, designed as a
contribution to the debate in progress about the subject,
examines the legal and institutional milestones of the
environmental licensing of hydroelectric ventures, including
studies of selected cases, an assessment of transaction
costs of the processes and a comparison with international
practices. Two conclusions emerge from this study. The first
is that the costs of dealing with environmental issues and
social development of enterprises hydroelectric in Brazil
represent 12 percent of the total cost of the work. And the
second is that costs of taxes, in general, the contractual
and regulatory uncertainty, excluding the licensing
environmental, represent about 7.5 percent of the total
cost. In other words, the conclusion is clear: the
environmental and social costs can be easily integrated.
This study does not suggest radical changes to the system of
environmental licensing. Any reform of the Brazilian
environmental licensing can not be dealt with based on a
single, simple solution. Rather, the system is complex and
multifaceted, with a long legal and institutional history. A
process of broad national discussion on the energy issue and
its implications for environmental goods of the country is
essential and is already in progress. |
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