Research On Evolution Of Brazilian Environmental Policies: From Military Government To Bolsonaro Government

Brazil increasingly plays an prominent role with the rise of global environmental governance.As the largest country in Latin America,Brazil occupies the majority of the Amazon rainforest,and is also one of the major greenhouse gas emitters in the world.Therefore,its environmental policies are often highly concerned by the international community.From the military government to Bolsonaro government,Brazil’s environmental policies could be roughly divided into four stages.During the military government period,the rulers regarded economic development as the focus of government work and environmental protection as an obstacle to economic development.Brazil achieved remarkable economic miracles at the expense of the environment in this period.From the beginning of the democratic government to the Lula government,Brazil’s overall environmental policy gradually turned positive,strengthening environmental protection internally,and integrating and participating in global environmental governance externally.During administrations of Dilma Rousseff and Michel Temer,Brazil was experiencing a severe political and economic crisis,and its environmental policies were fluctuated.The government’s active participation in global governance was questioned by the outside.When Bolsonaro is in office,his environmental policies show a historic retrogression,and the importance of economic development is once again above the environment.Brazil no longer actively involves in global environmental governance as before.The changes above are caused by multiple domestic and international factors.Among them,domestic factors mainly include the following: first,the improvement of Brazilian people’s awareness of environmental protection is the starting point for improving the environment.Second,changes of domestic political and economic situation are the main factor in the fluctuation of Brazil’s environmental policies.When the domestic political and economic situation is good,Brazil is more inclined to actively respond to environmental problems.Third,changes in the national diplomatic strategy can correspondingly affect Brazil’s participation in global environmental governance.Forth,concerns about national sovereignty lead Brazil to be particularly sensitive to sovereignty issues when participating in environmental governance.Finally,Brazil’s advantages in clean energy make it hope to take the opportunity of global environmental governance to expand its clean energy market.Among the international factors,the pressure exerted by the international community on the Brazilian government may urge it to change policies that are not conducive to the environment.Meanwhile,activities of non-governmental organizations have promoted the introduction of environmentally friendly policies.Finally,the trend of globalization and anti-globalization is also a significant contributing factor.The regressive environmental policies of the Bolsonaro government have been widely criticized.Under the changing domestic and international situation,the Brazilian government will face more challenges in its environmental policies.The retrogressive environmental policies will undermine Brazil’s international image and reduce Brazil’s position in global environmental governance.The international pressure on Bolsonaro will sharply increase.Meanwhile,the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has led to the lack of government’s capacity in dealing with environmental problems.The sharp increase in masks and medical waste under the pandemic will also exacerbate environmental problems in Brazil.In face of severe criticism and various challenges,the Bolsonaro government will not change its environmental policies fundamentally,and the importance of economic recovery will still be higher than that of environmental governance.Nevertheless,due to the restraint of various domestic forces and the increase of international pressure,its environmental policies will retain a certain degree of pragmatism and flexibility to avoid unlimited regression.China and Brazil are both emerging countries and shoulder the dual tasks of development and environmental protection.Research on the evolution of Brazil’s environmental policy could provide China with profound enlightenment.On the one hand,Brazil’s experience in research and promotion of clean energy is worth learning.On the other hand,Brazil’s dependence on natural resources in its economic structure is not conducive to the implementation of the strategy of sustainable development.In addition,for emerging countries such as China and Brazil,the combined use of soft power and hard power is the best solution in the process of participating in global governance.Nevertheless,there are still opportunities in China-Brazil environmental cooperation.In bilateral environmental cooperation,China and Brazil still need to maintain good economic relations,strengthen cooperation in the field of energy,make full use of and continue to develop and upgrade China-Brazil earth resources satellites.Moreover,China should play a bigger role in global environmental governance through actively participating in multilateral cooperation and contributing Chinese solutions.The green “Belt and Road” initiative could be used as a supporting mechanism to promote green development.