Política Estadual de Mudanças Climáticas: instrumentos, resultados e interação com questões florestais

Abstract

The climate changes that the planet has been facing are the result of the intensification of the so-called greenhouse effect. In this sense, countries have signed agreements, establishing measures that those involved must adopt to define mitigation and adaptation strategies. Forests play an important role in mitigation, as they act as atmospheric carbon sinks, and it is essential that conservation strategies and expansion of forested areas are settled. Brazil and its states have been developing their national and local coping strategies. This work aims at describing public policies on climate change in the state of Pernambuco, in order to identify the main legal frameworks that provide the basis for confronting climate change in the region. Moreover, this paper analyzes the points of interaction of climate policies and measures for conservation and reforestation, identifying their results and stages of implementation and which projects have been executed or are in progress linked to the forest area that contribute to mitigating the effects of climate change. Qualitative research was developed based on bibliographic research, official documents and interviews. The state of Pernambuco has its state climate policy and instruments such as the State Plan for Climate Change (PEMC/PE) and the Pernambuco Decarbonization State Plan (PDPE) in addition to other policies that have programmatic coherence. It was identified that, for the forestry sector, the plans establish goals aimed at conservation and reforestation. Of the objectives for the forestry sector of the PEMC/PE, only the expansion of 22 conservation units could be verified. Mechanisms such as Payment for Environmental Services (PSA) and Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), proposed as options for the sector, were not proven successful, with no projects being developed over the twelve years of climate policy due to the lack of financial support for project development. There are only two programs under development in Pernambuco that can contribute to the mitigation strategy, but they are still in the implementation phase. The absence of implementation verification mechanisms, lack of financial support for policy implementation and low institutional coordination constitute major barriers to advancing climate policy and to mitigation by conservation and reforestation.