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    Brazil Needs to Retool its Energy Efficiency Efforts in Industry

    Friday, August 28th, 2009

    The focus of action of Brazilian government initiatives regarding energy efficiency in industry needs to be adjusted, and if done properly, could result in annual savings as high as R$6.8 billion per year. This is one of the conclusions of the report Energy Efficiency in Industry: What Has Been Done in Brazil, Opportunities to Reduce […]

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    Pará Adopts a Recycling Policy

    Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

    Earlier this month Governor Simão Jatene signed a law creating a State Materials Recycling Policy for Pará. The new Law is based on similar measures adopted recently by its neighbor Amapá and by several other Brazilian states, including Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Rondônia (see the Temas list of waste/recycling legislation […]

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    Amapá Adopts a Recycling Policy

    Friday, August 1st, 2008

    In early July Governor Waldez Góes signed a law creating a State Materials Recycling Policy. The new Law is based on similar measures adopted by several other Brazilian states, including Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Rondônia. It seeks to promote and provide incentives to the commercialization and industrial utilization of used […]

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    A Solid Waste Plan for Costa Rica

    Friday, July 18th, 2008

    Recently Costa Rica was presented its long-awaited Solid Waste Plan (PRESOL) by the entities belonging to the Inter-Institutional Platform of the Competitiveness and Environment Program (CYMA): the Health Ministry (MinSalud), the Planning Ministry (Mideplan), the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), the Institute for Municipal Development and Advice (Instituto de Fomento y Asesoria Municipal – […]

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    Promoting Renewable Energy in Costa Rica

    Thursday, July 10th, 2008

    A bill has been introduced in Costa Rica’s national assembly by Deputy José Merino del Río that aims at promoting a faster switch to renewable energy sources by exempting from taxes the following items: Solar water heaters for all uses whose efficiency has been certified by an accredited laboratory; Storage tanks for thermosyphon solar water […]

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    The Outlook for Biodiesel in Central America

    Sunday, October 14th, 2007

    The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC/CEPAL) recently released a report* it commissioned from a consultant that evaluates the prospects for biodiesel development in Central America generally, and individually in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.  All four nations have expressed strong interest in replacing imported fossil fuels with locally […]

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    Morelos Gets a Comprehensive Waste Law

    Wednesday, October 10th, 2007

    The central Mexican state of Morelos (home of Revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata) just adopted its own comprehensive state solid waste law. Since Mexico adopted its federal General Law for the Prevention and Integrated Management of Wastes in 2003, the Federal District (DF) and many states have adopted their own general waste laws, or else amended […]

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    Amazonas “Visionary” on Climate Change?

    Friday, September 7th, 2007

    In June Amazonas became the first Brazilian state to adopt a state law on climate change, together with one creating a State System of Conservation Units (UCs). The laws were widely praised by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working on environment and conservation issues. A Greenpeace spokesman even declared them to be “almost visionary, but perfectly capable […]

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    A Sustainable Biofuels Policy for Chile?

    Monday, March 19th, 2007

    I scribbled some notes on this story when the report was first released in late January. But when I could not get back to finishing and publishing it right away, I thought about just dropping it because I half-expected President Bachelet to act on it quickly. Instead she appears to be holding off, digesting it […]

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    PAC’ing Brazil: Overview & Environmental Licensing

    Friday, March 2nd, 2007

    If you are not resident in Brazil or a regular Brazil-watcher, you could be forgiven for never having heard of PAC. No! Not the video game character that chomped on “power pills” in order to consume brightly colored ghosts! Rather instead complex package of proposals from Lula’s Government intended to energize the Brazilian economy through […]

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