From Tax Incentives (Bill 2148/15) to the Regulated Market (Law 15,042/24): the Regulatory Process of the Carbon Market in Brazil
By Lucas Cunha (UFPA/CFC-GS)¹
In Brazil, Law No. 15,042, dated December 11, 2024, was responsible for regulating the Carbon Market, establishing the Brazilian Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System (SBCE) (Brazil, 2024).
The legislative construction deserves to be analyzed with the necessary care, whose scope for research rises to the interdisciplinary level, especially given the absence of significant empirical support, given the very recent publication of the norm.
The trajectory of Law 15,042/2024 is a fascinating study of the evolution of environmental priorities in Brazilian legislation. The formal starting point dates back to June 30, 2015, with the presentation of Bill No. 2,148/2015 by Federal Deputy Jaime Martins (PSD-MG).
Interestingly, the initial objective of this bill was not to create a carbon market, but rather to establish tax benefits for low-carbon products. The original proposal was clear:
Bill No. 2,148/2015: Establishes tax reductions for products suitable for the low-carbon green economy (Brazil, 2015).
The proposal focused on reducing federal tax rates (IPI², PIS/PASEP³, and COFINS⁴) as a way to encourage sustainability. The justification at the time already addressed the issue of climate change, with Representative Jaime Martins stating that the objective was:
It is a matter of offering more favorable tax treatment to products manufactured with reduced carbon intensity. There is no need to reiterate the arguments in favor of more environmentally balanced production, with minimized use of scarce natural resources, especially since we are witnessing various symptoms of nature’s reaction to the damage done to the environment: prolonged droughts followed by torrential rains; global warming; pollution; etc. (Brazil, 2015, p. 3).
In this regard, after six years of proceedings in the Chamber of Deputies, Deputy Carla Zambelli (PSL-SP) was appointed as Rapporteur for the Bill on November 5, 2021, who, in her preliminary opinion of November 8, 2021, expressed her opinion in favor of the constitutionality and approval of Bill 2,148/2015.
In her first preliminary opinion, the Congresswoman highlighted the importance of establishing a carbon market in the country:
The implementation of a mandatory regulated market also tends to radically alter the trajectory of evolution of the industrial and energy sectors, so that the separation of the exhaustive treatment of legislative matters relating to both markets will ultimately bring the appreciable advantage of allowing for faster approval of measures relating to the voluntary market—which will encourage payment for the environmental services provided by our standing forests, through instruments such as those we are now proposing, preserving, revising, and expanding this chapter of the text (2021, pp. 3–4).
From this point on, the relevance and particularity of the matter gained such repercussions in Congress that, in addition to the establishment of a Special Committee to review the bill, other bills were appended to Bill 2,148/2015. This procedural mechanism means that other similar legislative proposals were attached to the aforementioned bill to be discussed and voted on together, allowing the debate to incorporate different views and culminate in a single text.
The joint discussion and broad debate led to a profound transformation of Bill 2,148/2015. On December 21, 2023, the bill was approved by the Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies under the rapporteurship of Federal Deputy Aliel. The result was a Substitute, a new text that abandoned the original focus on tax incentives to establish the carbon market, with the following new summary:
Bill No. 2,148/2015: Establishes the Brazilian Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System (SBCE); and amends Laws No. 12,187, of December 29, 2009, No. 12,651, of May 25, 2012 (Forest Code), No. 6,385, of December 7, 1976, No. 11,033, of December 21, 2004, and 6,015, of December 31, 1973 (Public Records Law).
The bill was then sent to the Federal Senate on February 6, 2024, for review and voting, and began to be processed as of November 18, 2024, as Bill 182/2024, having been approved by the aforementioned Legislative House on November 13, 2024, once again changing the summary of the rule, which now reads:
Bill No. 182/2024: Establishes the Brazilian Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System (SBCE); and amends Laws No. 12,187, of December 29, 2009, No. 12,651, of May 25, 2012 (Forest Code), No. 6,385, of December 7, 1976 (Securities Commission Law), and 6,015, of December 31, 1973 (Public Records Law).
Back in the House of Representatives, Bill No. 182/2024 became Ordinary Law 15,042 of December 11, 2024, which finally established the Carbon Market in Brazil, the most recent financial mechanism available to the country and the subject of this blog, whose origins, ideals, proposals, and expectations will be unraveled from a legal and regulatory perspective in the following editions.
References
BRAZIL. Law No. 15,042, of December 11, 2024. Establishes the Brazilian Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System (SBCE); and amends Laws No. 12,187, of December 29, 2009, No. 12,651, of May 25, 2012 (Forest Code), 6,385, of December 7, 1976 (Securities Commission Law), and 6,015, of December 31, 1973 (Public Records Law). Available at: https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2023-2026/2024/lei/L15042.htm. Accessed on: Oct. 19, 2025.
BRAZIL. Chamber of Deputies. Bill No. 2148, dated June 30, 2015. Establishes tax reductions for products suitable for the low-carbon green economy. Available at: https://www.camara.leg.br/proposicoesWeb/prop_mostrarintegra?codteor=1355144&filename=Tramitacao-PL%20182/2024%20(N%C2%BA%20Anterior:%20PL%202148/2015). Accessed on: Oct. 19, 2025.
BRAZIL. Chamber of Deputies. Plenary Opinion on Bill No. 2,148, of 2015 – Rapporteur Federal Deputy Carla Zambelli. Available at: https://www.camara.leg.br/proposicoesWeb/prop_mostrarintegra?codteor=2101105&filename=Tramitacao-PL%20182/2024%20(N%C2%BA%20Anterior:%20PL%202148/2015). Accessed on: Oct. 19, 2025.
[1] Lawyer. Graduated and Master’s degree in Law from the Federal University of Pará, ranked first in the research area of Fundamental Rights and the Environment, with a research focus on Taxation on Carbon Credits. Postgraduate degree in Tax Law from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais.
[2] Tax on Industrialized Products
[3] Contribution to Social Integration and Civil Servant Asset Formation Programs
[4] Contribution to Social Security Financing
