Decisão do STF sobre o novo Código Florestal enfraquece a Cota de Reserva Ambiental (CRA)

This article analyzes a decision by the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) regarding the 2012 Forest Code (Law No. 12,651/2012), specifically focusing on how contradictory rulings regarding the Environmental Reserve Quote (CRA) create legal uncertainty and potentially weaken this market-based mechanism for environmental regularization.

• The Environmental Reserve Quote (CRA) was established by the new Forest Code as an economic instrument to allow rural property owners with a Legal Reserve deficit to achieve legal compliance at a lower cost by purchasing credits from owners who preserve native vegetation above the legal requirement within the same biome.
• While the STF unanimously upheld the constitutionality of Article 44, which created the CRA, it issued inconsistent rulings regarding the criteria for compensation. For Article 48, paragraph 2, the court replaced the 'biome' criterion with a more restrictive 'ecological identity' requirement. However, for Article 66, paragraph 6, which also covers CRA acquisition, the court maintained the 'biome' criterion as constitutional.
• The STF's contradictory decision creates legal insecurity for the CRA market. If the 'ecological identity' criterion is applied specifically to CRAs while other compensation methods remain tied to the broader 'biome' criterion, the CRA market may be weakened. Furthermore, there is no consensus on the definition of 'ecological identity', leaving room for discretion by state environmental agencies.

APA

Chiavari, J., & Lopes, C. L. (2018). Decisão do STF sobre o novo Código Florestal enfraquece a Cota de Reserva Ambiental (CRA). Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CPI_Artigo_Decisão_do_STF_sobre_o_novo_Código_Florestal_enfraquece_a_Cota_de_Reserva_Ambiental_CRA.pdf

Chicago

Chiavari, Joana, and Cristina Leme Lopes. Decisão do STF sobre o novo Código Florestal enfraquece a Cota de Reserva Ambiental (CRA). Climate Policy Initiative, 2018. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CPI_Artigo_Decisão_do_STF_sobre_o_novo_Código_Florestal_enfraquece_a_Cota_de_Reserva_Ambiental_CRA.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chiavari |first1=Joana |last2=Lopes |first2=Cristina Leme |title=Decisão do STF sobre o novo Código Florestal enfraquece a Cota de Reserva Ambiental (CRA) |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=March 2018 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CPI_Artigo_Decisão_do_STF_sobre_o_novo_Código_Florestal_enfraquece_a_Cota_de_Reserva_Ambiental_CRA.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chiavari2018deciso, author = {Chiavari, Joana and Lopes, Cristina Leme}, title = {{Decisão do STF sobre o novo Código Florestal enfraquece a Cota de Reserva Ambiental (CRA)}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2018}, month = mar, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CPI_Artigo_Decisão_do_STF_sobre_o_novo_Código_Florestal_enfraquece_a_Cota_de_Reserva_Ambiental_CRA.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }