There is an ongoing global movement to encourage the use of renewable energy as a strategy to reduce emissions of climate change precursor gases. As a result, several countries, including Brazil and members of the European Union, have developed public policies and regulatory frameworks to encourage such sources, with wind power having had a remarkable development over the past few years. Wind energy is becoming increasingly important given its competitive costs when compared to other sources and its capacity to expand at considerable rates. In order to approve wind energy projects, the National Electric Energy Agency (Aneel), the regulatory body for the electric system, requires wind force readings of at least two years. The environmental agencies responsible for environmental licensing, in their turn, require studies on potential environmental impacts. Although Brazil has one of the carbon-cleanest energy matrices in the world, the Brazilian government has pioneered initiatives aimed at mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate change on the energy sector. The National Policy on Climate Change entered into force in 2009, and was later regulated by Decree 7,390 of December 2010, establishing voluntary targets for reducing GHG emissions by 36.1% and 38.9% compared to projected emissions for 2020. Within this commitment, between 6.1% and 7.7% must derive from the contribution of the energy sector. To achieve this goal, several actions are being implemented, with an emphasis on encouraging the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency. The European Union, meanwhile, has established compulsory commitments to reduce its GHG emissions. Goals known as 20-20-20 were set and mean that the group of countries that make up the bloc is to establish and implement measures to reduce their emissions by 20%, increasing the share of renewable energy by 20% and increase energy efficiency also by 20% -- and all this by 2020. Member countries should draw up National Action Plans for Renewable Energy, thus creating an environment conducive to the setting of public policies for the energy sector. In this context, the EU has invested in technology and acquired knowledge and experience in the planning and implementation of projects for the generation of energy from renewable sources (including wind), and, therefore, experienced an increase in the share of renewable sources in its energy matrix over the last decade. Europe’s pioneering efforts allowed a body of knowledge to build, including mechanisms for strategic planning, which may lead to the sustainable evolution of wind generation, required to mitigate GHG emissions. The main objective of this action is to address and discuss policies and instruments used by Brazil and EU countries for fostering sustainable wind energy and their effects on the achievement of GHG emission reduction targets.
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