Mapa extends public consultation deadline on green carbon

The deadline for receiving proposals for the draft Normative Instruction that establishes the criteria for the production, accounting and remuneration of green carbon has been extended until May 15th. The new date was published in the Official Gazette of the Union this Monday (11/04). 

Carbon credit is an instrument that allows remuneration for economic decarbonization initiatives, such as forest restoration projects and the use of clean energy, among other measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. These credits can be transformed into bonds and sold to other agents that emit more polluting gases than allowed, for example.

Voluntary agents can also purchase credits to access green financing sources or for another strategic decision. Mapa's General Coordinator of Animal Production, Marcella Teixeira, explains that the objective is to stimulate the development of a voluntary market for green carbon credits in Brazil with criteria endorsed for the peculiarities of national agricultural production.

Technical standards will be published based on nationally validated decarbonizing methodologies and principles, such as those defined by the ABC+ Plan.
What is currently happening is a proliferation of brands that use the concepts of zero carbon, low carbon, carbon neutral, without regulation that guarantees these criteria to the consumer.

Therefore, Mapa will create ordinances to establish the minimum conditions to meet this demand and the commercialization of carbon credits in the voluntary market. The public consultation is open to receive contributions from society to establish criteria for the production, accounting and commercialization of green carbon on a voluntary basis, following guidelines from the National Green Carbon Policy in Agriculture.

There are six contents to receive suggestions for normative texts, five of which are technical standards. Two refer to the manufacture of products of animal origin, encompassing the low carbon model focusing on avoided carbon and the carbon neutral model focusing on mitigated or removed carbon. Two other draft ordinances deal with products of plant origin. The fifth technical standard concerns the capture and storage of carbon through the processing of agricultural products.

Bodies, representative entities, individuals and legal entities interested in the topic can participate by sending suggestions for changes or inclusions. The content must be presented in an editable spreadsheet format, as per the example below, and must be sent to the email: cgpa.decap@agro.gov.br.

The criteria for accepting suggestions for changes, inclusion or exclusion in the texts will take into account compliance with other legal provisions and international agreements to which Brazil is a signatory.

Failure to comply with the proposed format will result in automatic rejection of the suggestions sent. At the end of the contribution period, Mapa's General Coordination of Animal Production will evaluate the suggestions received.