New federal law establishes guidelines for drawing up climate change adaptation plans

In a nutshell

Federal Law No. 14.904/2024 was published. The law establishes guidelines for the preparation of climate change adaptation plans, with the aim of guiding the implementation of measures to reduce the vulnerability and exposure to risks of environmental, social, economic and infrastructure systems, in the face of the current and expected adverse effects of climate change.

More details

On June 27, 2024, Federal Law No. 14.904/2024 was published. The law establishes guidelines for the preparation of Climate Adaptation Plans, within the scope of the National Policy on Climate Change (PNMC). The guidelines include:

a) The identification, evaluation and prioritization of measures to deal with recurrent natural disasters and reduce the vulnerability and exposure of environmental, social, economic and infrastructure systems in rural and urban areas, as well as the adverse effects of climate change at local, municipal, state, regional and national levels;

b) The management and reduction of climate risk, in order to estimate, minimize or avoid losses and damage, and plan and prioritize the coordinated management of investments, based on the degree of vulnerability, as defined by the PNMC;

c) The establishment of economic, financial and socio-environmental public policy instruments that ensure the viability and effectiveness of the adaptation of environmental, social, economic and critical infrastructure systems;

d) Integration between mitigation and adaptation strategies at the local, municipal, state, regional and national levels, in line with the commitments made in the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change through the Nationally Determined Contribution;

e) The establishment of priorities, based on the most vulnerable sectors and regions, based on the preparation of climate risk and vulnerability analysis studies; and

f) The adoption of nature-based solutions as part of adaptation strategies, considering their additional benefits and their ability to integrate adaptation and mitigation results simultaneously.

The new law provides for periodic monitoring and evaluation of the actions envisaged, as well as the adoption of inclusive governance processes for the review of the plans referred to in the legislation, every 4 (four) years, guided by the multi-annual plan cycle.

In addition, the regulation provides for the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change, among others:

i. It will be based on scientific evidence, modeled analyses and scenario forecasts, taking into account the scientific reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), in order to establish and prioritize the actions to be included;

ii. It will establish guidelines for state and municipal plans and ensure priority support for the most vulnerable municipalities exposed to climate threats, as well as fostering inter-municipal consortia and regional arrangements to achieve the measures it provides for; and

iii. It will promote international cooperation at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels for the financing, training, development, transfer and dissemination of technologies and processes for the implementation of adaptation actions, including scientific research, monitoring and systematic evaluation of the impacts of climate change and the exchange of information.