Thematic area: Climate, Environment and Energy. Sector: Sustainable Energy
Energy Efficiency and Climate Change
Partners: 
Ministry of Environment / 
Directorate-General for the Environment.
Year: 2013
Project Overview:
This action aims to verify how the responsible departments of the European Union - where energy policies and climate change are intertwined - interact in the formulation and implementation of policies to encourage energy efficiency. Furthermore, it seeks to compare work carried out in Europe with the Brazilian operational model.
Brazil’s energy matrix is fairly low on carbon, featuring about 45% of renewable sources, especially hydro-power and biomass. But the growing demand for energy will require a reconfiguration of the Brazilian matrix, making it essential to integrate energy production with environment-related issues.
In 2001, Brazil experienced a crisis in the energy sector which resulted, among other measures, in the enactment of the National Policy for the Conservation and Rational Use of Energy. The Energy Efficiency Act establishes maximum levels of energy consumption or minimum efficiency levels for appliances and equipment produced or sold in Brazil and for residential and commercial buildings.
Another act put in place the National Policy on Climate Change, in 2009, when Brazil signed a voluntary commitment to reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions and set priority actions, such as increasing energy efficiency. In the European Union, this is also a concern. In December 2008, the EU set targets to be met by 2020: reduce GHG emissions by 20% compared to 1990; increase the share of renewable energy by 20%, and; increase energy efficiency by 20%. Thus, the objectives of energy efficiency in Brazil and the EU are consistent with one another, contributing to the progress of the exchanges proposed by the project.
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