Adjustments to the New Concessions Law Bill Could Ensure Higher Quality, and More Sustainable Infrastructure

The document examines the legislative process of Brazil's new Concessions Law bill, highlighting gaps in environmental licensing, feasibility studies, and investor liability. It argues that the current draft maintains ambiguity regarding the Preliminary Environmental License and fails to mandate Technical, Economic and Environmental Feasibility Studies (EVTEA) before bidding. The authors recommend that sector regulations define licensing responsibilities to increase predictability, that EVTEA be a prerequisite for greenfield project bidding, and that provisions limiting investor environmental liability be removed to avoid judicial conflict and align with the National Environmental Policy Act.

• The current draft of the Concessions Law bill maintains ambiguity regarding whether the government or the concessionaire is responsible for obtaining the Preliminary Environmental License, leaving the government to decide on a case-by-case basis.
• The authors argue that establishing general rules for when the Preliminary Environmental License (LP) should be obtained by sector or project type would increase predictability and stability for the business environment.
• The draft bill proposes limiting the environmental liability of investors to cases where a causal link between their conduct and the damage is proven, which contradicts the current judicial 'theory of full risk'.
• The authors suggest that the provision limiting investor liability should be eliminated because it may trigger judicial action and because such discussions belong under the National Environmental Policy Act rather than the Concessions Law Bill.

APA

Cozendey, G., Chiavari, J., & Antonaccio, L. (2020). Adjustments to the New Concessions Law Bill Could Ensure Higher Quality, and More Sustainable Infrastructure. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NT-PL-Concessoes-EN-1.pdf

Chicago

Cozendey, Gabriel, Joana Chiavari, and Luiza Antonaccio. Adjustments to the New Concessions Law Bill Could Ensure Higher Quality, and More Sustainable Infrastructure. Climate Policy Initiative, 2020. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NT-PL-Concessoes-EN-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cozendey |first1=Gabriel |last2=Chiavari |first2=Joana |last3=Antonaccio |first3=Luiza |title=Adjustments to the New Concessions Law Bill Could Ensure Higher Quality, and More Sustainable Infrastructure |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=June 2020 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NT-PL-Concessoes-EN-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cozendey2020adjustments, author = {Cozendey, Gabriel and Chiavari, Joana and Antonaccio, Luiza}, title = {{Adjustments to the New Concessions Law Bill Could Ensure Higher Quality, and More Sustainable Infrastructure}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/NT-PL-Concessoes-EN-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }