Brazil and Sustainable Development: State and natural resources (1992 - 2012)

Author(s)

Cássia Natanie Peguim

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Assis. 2021-02-17.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Faculdade de Ciências e Letras. Assis
• Defense date: 2020-12-15
• Advisor: Paulo Henrique Martinez

Abstract

The research aimed to understand how the Brazilian national state made use of water, agroenergetic biomass from sugar cane and oil to generate electricity in a context of institutionalizing the international demand for policies that promote sustainable development. I conducted a survey of themes and problems present in the entry of sustainable development in the Brazilian institutional field reflecting on: the national demand for public development policies in the Brazilian Agenda 21 (2002), the reform of the State, the subsequent blackout crisis during the second government Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1999 - 2003) and the return of state-owned companies in the planning of the electricity sector during the first Luís Inácio Lula da Silva government (2003 - 2007). I also observed how the use of the three natural resources mentioned was proposed in the National Energy Plan - PNE 2030 and in the National Water Resources Plan - PNRH (2007). The sustainability concept was problematized as a socioeconomic imperative with the capacity to raise questions about the temporality of the relationships between human beings and the natural world. I observe the asymmetrical position that Brazil occupied internationally with developing economies in negotiations on the environment within the United Nations. The place of sustainability as a politic, that is, as a policy of intention, would be in the policies, policies of execution, of expanding the participation of science and technology in multilateral cooperation relations. I concluded that the policies were directed towards the integration of Brazil into the South American space and the strengthening of South-South relations, but the policies of technology transfer and financing of energy generation programs with low generation of Greenhouse Gases - GHG the integration of the national energy sector was restricted. Observing the reorganization of the territory in politics for the use of agroenergetic biomass from sugar cane and oil, I found disagreements and consensus on medium and long term planning for the use of water in the generation of hydroelectricity. The use of water, sugarcane agroenergetic biomass and oil incorporated the vocabulary and modus operandi of international environmental policy and the market for environmental goods, but remained linked to the ideal of development of the Brazilian nation, energy security and sovereignty about their natural resources (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/23033-0 - Brazil and sustainable development: the state and natural resources (1992 - 2012)
• Grantee: Cássia Natanie Peguim Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate