The importance of public policies that encourage companies to decarbonize the environment and invest in clean technologies in Brazil

Abstract

In this study, we aim to demonstrate how important public policies that encourage companies to decarbonize the environment are to Brazil. There is an evident need for the creation of a Brazilian Regulatory Agency for the carbon market that acts transparently and according to international agreements. In this study, we analyzed Braskem’s greenhouse gas emission reports from 2010 to 2018 regarding the production of green polyethylene or other actions related to depollution of the environment. Furthermore, we sought to investigate Braskem’s relationship with the ICO2 index of the São Paulo Stock Exchange, which takes into account the degree of efficiency of greenhouse gas emissions of each member in this indicator. We discussed how the Stock Exchange manipulates ICO2 values through their calculation methods. Companies that participate in the ICO2 market have competitive advantages over stakeholders, even though they have agreed to abide by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires transparency regarding how the reduction of greenhouse gases emission occurs. We concluded that the lack of transparency and the ICO2 calculation methods also created a new derivative through which companies listed in the ICO2 could profit and reduce the risk of losses.