Como melhorar a eficiência no setor de ar-condicionado? O papel da Zona Franca de Manaus

This policy brief by the Climate Policy Initiative analyzes the air conditioning (AC) sector in Brazil, focusing on the impact of the Zona Franca de Manaus (ZFM) industrial policy. It argues that current tax incentives and the Basic Productive Process (PPB) requirements hinder energy and productive efficiency, leading to products with outdated technology and a deterioration in production indicators between 2003 and 2015.

• Air conditioning units produced in Brazil exhibit low energy efficiency compared to international standards and have shown minimal improvement. Between 2010 and 2018, average efficiency in Brazil increased by only 10.2%, whereas India saw a 29% improvement (2011-2017) and Vietnam a 30.8% improvement (2013-2018).
• Implementing more rigorous minimum efficiency indices for air conditioners in Brazil could prevent the emission of 6.3 Mt CO2 of greenhouse gases by 2035, avoiding 14.5 TWh of consumption and saving approximately R$ 8 billion.
• The air conditioning sector in Brazil is highly concentrated, with 98% of the market held by eight foreign multinational companies, all of which have factories in the Zona Franca de Manaus (ZFM) to access tax benefits.
• The Basic Productive Process (PPB) requirements create distortions that result in low energy and productive efficiency. Specifically, the PPB required a percentage of compressors to be manufactured nationally (30% for Split Systems and 50% for Window units), but the only non-industrial compressor manufacturer in Brazil, located in São Carlos (SP), uses outdated non-inverter technology.
• Between 2003 and 2015, the air conditioning sector experienced a deterioration in efficiency, with a 2% drop in the energy efficiency indicator and a 5% drop in the productive efficiency indicator. This trend was consistent for both Brazil as a whole and the ZFM, contrasting with the broader Brazilian manufacturing industry, which remained stable.
• Despite the lack of efficiency gains, AC sales more than tripled between 2005 and 2017, leading to a 237% increase in electricity consumption for residential air conditioners during the same period.
• In 2015, estimated tax expenditures for the industrial ZFM totaled approximately R$ 4.3 billion, with 7% (R$ 285 million) allocated specifically to the air conditioning sector.

APA

Schutze, A., Holz, R., & Assunção, J. (2020). Como melhorar a eficiência no setor de ar-condicionado? O papel da Zona Franca de Manaus. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Policy-Brief-Como-melhorar-a-eficiência-no-setor-de-ar-condicionado.pdf

Chicago

Schutze, Amanda, Rhayana Holz, and Juliano Assunção. Como melhorar a eficiência no setor de ar-condicionado? O papel da Zona Franca de Manaus. Climate Policy Initiative, 2020. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Policy-Brief-Como-melhorar-a-eficiência-no-setor-de-ar-condicionado.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Schutze |first1=Amanda |last2=Holz |first2=Rhayana |last3=Assunção |first3=Juliano |title=Como melhorar a eficiência no setor de ar-condicionado? O papel da Zona Franca de Manaus |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=August 2020 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Policy-Brief-Como-melhorar-a-eficiência-no-setor-de-ar-condicionado.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{schutze2020como, author = {Schutze, Amanda and Holz, Rhayana and Assunção, Juliano}, title = {{Como melhorar a eficiência no setor de ar-condicionado? O papel da Zona Franca de Manaus}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2020}, month = aug, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Policy-Brief-Como-melhorar-a-eficiência-no-setor-de-ar-condicionado.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }