“Carbon credit is key to enabling decarbonization,” says environmental lawyer

Brazil has the potential to stop being a commodity exporter and become a global reference in climate and technological solutions. This is the evaluation of lawyer Luiz Gustavo Bezerra, an expert in environment and climate change, who sees in the new regulatory framework of the carbon market and the advancement of carbon capture and storage technologies (CCS) an opportunity to attract investments and reposition the Brazilian economy in the global scenario.

“Brazil has an extremely clean energy matrix. In particular, our electric matrix is ​​made up of about 90% of renewable energy. Among the 20 largest economies in the world, it is certainly the clearest on the planet,” says Bezerra.

In addition, the country is one of five megadiverses in the world, concentrating even one third of global biodiversity in certain biomes. “This natural capital increasingly tends to translate into financial metrics, placing Brazil in a unique position to capture economic value from sustainability,” he adds.

Brazil also accumulates relevant experience in the use of CCs. Since 2008, Petrobras operates the largest Co₂ Reinjection Program in the world, with 67.9 million tons already stored in the pre-salt. The technique, used to increase productivity in exploration, reduces the barrel emission produced and serves as a showcase for industrial decarbonization projects.

“Carbon credit can be a key goal for economically enabling these projects. While nature -based solutions are around $ 15 to $ 30 per ton of CO₂, CC projects can reach $ 150. It’s a gigantic potential,” says Bezerra.

For the expert, Brazil must bet on a hybrid strategy that combines capture and storage technologies with nature -based solutions (NBS) such as biomes reforestation and restoration.

“These agendas are not competitors, but complementary. Climate neutrality will only be possible with a combined approach,” he explains.

Billionaire market

Regulatory advancement is another important pillar. Law No. 15,042/2024 created the Brazilian Emissions Trade System (SBCE), expecting full operationalization by the end of the decade. The model combines a compulsory market, along the lines of the European, with the voluntary market, allowing the generation of credits for private projects.

“The law was long awaited, and the approach has been agreed. But approval is just the beginning. Now we need governance and a regulatory agency for the market to work,” says Bezerra.

The Brazilian carbon market is expected to move billions of reais in the coming years, creating incentives for innovation, access to financing and international competitiveness.

Intensive in emission sectors – such as steel, cement, fertilizers and oil refining – should be directly impacted, while agro, bioenergy, aluminum and sustainable aviation emerge as beneficiaries of the new wave of investments.

Narratives

COP30, which will be held in November 2025, in Belém, will be the stage for Brazil to show these advances. “This will be a COP of implementation and demonstration of projects that are already working. Brazil will have the opportunity to overthrow myths about the sustainability of its agricultural production and biofuels,” says Bezerra.

With the international spotlight aimed at the country, the expert believes that Brazil can transform its energy matrix and biodiversity into global financial assets.

“Steel or aluminum produced here are already more competitive simply because they use renewable energy. Brazil can, yes, become an exporter of climate and technological solutions,” he concludes.