Environmental Assets and Carbon Markets: Could It Be Amazônia’s New Belle Époque?

Abstract

The Carbon and the Environmental Assets Markets are not regulated in Brazil. They are pointed out by experts and activists as sustainable alternatives of wealth generation and forest valuation. But will they be enough to make Amazônia able to experience once again a time of economic prosperity related to environmental preservation, just like in the Belle Époque (the golden time of Amazônia, supported by the rubber extraction)? This paper intends to discuss several issues—currently ignored—about the subject, considering historical, legal, social, environmental, economic and political backgrounds. Besides those contexts, there is an assessment of the public policies, current studies on regulation, and legislative trends about the environmental issues, the Carbon and the Environmental Assets Markets. Several inconsistencies/weaknesses were found in the legal system and if they are not properly considered, they might threaten the success of those markets and/or even preclude the social and economic return for the local populations, especially from Amazônia, in a possible future regulation. Without due care, instead of becoming an alternative of environmental preservation with economic development and decrease in social and regional inequalities, they may become another example of financial conglomerates income concentration, at the expense of the region.