THE NEW LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR RAILROAD AUTHORIZATIONS REQUIRES ADJUSTMENTS TO STRENGTHEN THE SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL, GOVERNANCE, AND TRANSPARENCY ASPECTS OF PROJECTS

This technical note by Climate Policy Initiative/Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (CPI/PUC-Rio) analyzes Brazil's Provisional Presidential Decree (MP) no. 1,065/2021 and Senate Bill (PL) no. 261/2018. The authors argue that the new legal framework for railroad authorizations lacks sufficient procedural clarity, governance, and transparency, which could jeopardize the socio-environmental analysis of private railroad projects.

• Provisional Presidential Decree (MP) no. 1,065/2021, enacted on August 30, 2021, allows for privately operated railroads via authorizations to simplify the grant process and avoid complex concession bidding procedures.
• The legal framework suffers from grave uncertainties regarding project studies because both the MP and PL only require reports on "relevant environmental aspects," without specifying the type of studies required, the evaluation criteria, or the relationship between different study types (such as EVTEA and EIA).
• There is a governance concern regarding the authority to analyze authorization requirements; under the MP, the Ministry of Infrastructure is responsible, whereas the PL assigns this to the National Land Transportation Agency (ANTT), which the authors argue has more technical autonomy and less political influence.
• The framework lacks transparency obligations regarding the publication of authorization requirements and public call annexes; currently, only summaries of requirements and contracts must be published, which the authors claim is insufficient for civil society oversight.
• The current framework does not mandate the publication of georeferenced railroad trajectories, which is necessary for monitoring impacts on protected areas, indigenous lands, and specific ecosystems.
• There is a lack of transparency regarding project financing, specifically for funds raised through incentivized debentures or thematic titles like green bonds, where the authors suggest disclosure of allocation and issuance criteria is needed.
• The framework lacks an explicit obligation to publish the reasoned approval of authorizations, which the authors describe as crucial for overseeing the terms of the grants.

APA

COZENDEY, G., & CHIAVARI, J. (2021). THE NEW LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR RAILROAD AUTHORIZATIONS REQUIRES ADJUSTMENTS TO STRENGTHEN THE SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL, GOVERNANCE, AND TRANSPARENCY ASPECTS OF PROJECTS. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/NT-MP-PL-EN.pdf

Chicago

COZENDEY, GABRIEL, and JOANA CHIAVARI. THE NEW LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR RAILROAD AUTHORIZATIONS REQUIRES ADJUSTMENTS TO STRENGTHEN THE SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL, GOVERNANCE, AND TRANSPARENCY ASPECTS OF PROJECTS. Climate Policy Initiative, 2021. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/NT-MP-PL-EN.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=COZENDEY |first1=GABRIEL |last2=CHIAVARI |first2=JOANA |title=THE NEW LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR RAILROAD AUTHORIZATIONS REQUIRES ADJUSTMENTS TO STRENGTHEN THE SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL, GOVERNANCE, AND TRANSPARENCY ASPECTS OF PROJECTS |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=September 2021 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/NT-MP-PL-EN.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cozendey2021new, author = {COZENDEY, GABRIEL and CHIAVARI, JOANA}, title = {{THE NEW LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR RAILROAD AUTHORIZATIONS REQUIRES ADJUSTMENTS TO STRENGTHEN THE SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL, GOVERNANCE, AND TRANSPARENCY ASPECTS OF PROJECTS}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2021}, month = sep, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/NT-MP-PL-EN.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }