Environmental compliance can contribute to the decarbonization of agriculture

With the objective of reducing 1,1 billion tons of carbon by 2030, the Ministry of Agriculture's new Low Carbon Agriculture Plan (ABC+) provides a challenge and an opportunity for producers and companies in the sector to face climate change. The decarbonization of the Brazilian economy is a topic that has been discussed since the regulation of the National Policy on Climate Change (PNMC), established in 2009 by Law 12.187, with greater emphasis after the conclusion of the Paris Agreement in 2015 with the main objective not to allow the planet to warm beyond 1,5ºC.

The search for carbon reduction is a trend that is here to stay not only due to the benefits of carbon trading - which still occurs voluntarily - but also due to the clarity of the damage that climate change causes directly in agricultural production. In the State of Rio Grande do Sul alone, by February 2023, 44 of its municipalities had declared an emergency situation, which could result in losses of 50% in agricultural production, causing financial losses.

To Patrícia de Padua Rodrigues (right in the photo), lawyer specializing in environmental law at Martinelli Advogados, reversing this scenario is essential for agribusiness to be more sustainable in the medium and long term. To achieve this, adapting to environmental standards and more efficient production processes is essential.

For the specialist, the adoption of an environmental compliance system is one of the tools that can help organizations and agribusiness entities to achieve carbon neutrality with the aim of not only maintaining healthy agricultural activities and the environment, but also maintaining be competitive in the market.

“When the producer produces sustainably, respecting legislation and good management practices, he reduces production costs and becomes more competitive because all the risks of the activity are mapped and mitigated”, he highlights. Patrícia adds that decarbonization is linked to the innovation process and, therefore, tends to accelerate according to the acceptance of technological development.

The lawyer specializing in environmental law adds that it is important to understand on a case-by-case basis what carbon the farmer generates, to know the production process and, thus, propose actions that can reduce gas emissions.

“It is necessary to have synergy between the technical and legal areas, with visits to customers to identify the risks that the activity causes, as in addition to regulatory issues, licenses, permits, waste management plans, among other legal requirements are necessary”, observes Patrícia .

For producers and companies linked to agribusiness, environmental compliance can help in the sector's decarbonization process, especially those that have committed to becoming zero carbon in a medium and long term period. “Our role is to identify legal weaknesses in the production and documentation process and carry out training and mentoring to improve the process”, he notes.

carbon credit

In addition to the competitive advantages that agriculture can guarantee in the international market with the adoption of sustainable actions, reducing emissions brings financial advantages with a growing carbon credit market.

Carolina Gonçalves Mota (left in the photo), who also works in the area of ​​environmental and climate law at Martinelli, explains that this market is still in its infancy, with operations in the voluntary market and could gain strength with the elaboration of a decarbonization regulation that is being developed in priority form by the Brazilian Association of Technical Standards (ABNT) to stipulate metrics for carbon measurement and obtain seals with national and international recognition demonstrating carbon neutralization.

“The standard will serve all segments of the economy. Therefore, technical analyzes carried out by organizations and entities in each sector must continue, including those in agribusiness”, he highlights. Carolina adds that this action was taken to create transparency in measurements for all links in the production sector, be they suppliers, investors and buyers and, with this, in addition to adding more value to your product, it will conquer the most demanding markets.

“Producing responsibly and sustainably is part of the new world order”, concludes Carolina.