Climate Protection and Environmental Interests in Renewable Energy Law: Perspectives From Brazil and Germany Paula Galbiatti Silveira

Climate Protection and Environmental
Interests in Renewable Energy Law:

Perspectives from Brazil and Germany
Paula Galbiatti Silveira
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Climate Protection
and Environmental
Interests in
Renewable Energy
Law
Climate Protection and Environmental Interests
in Renewable Energy Law
Climate Protection
and Environmental Interests
in Renewable Energy Law
Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (UFSC)
Florianópolis, Brazil
This work was supported by DAAD
ISBN 978-3-031-11604-9 ISBN 978-3-031-11605-6 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11605-6
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland
AG 2022
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The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
This work has been updated and modified
for publication. The last update was in
March 2022.
Foreword
This book results from the research of Paula Galbiatti Silveira conducted at the
Federal University of Santa Catarina (Brazil) and the University of Bremen (Ger-
many). It is based on a doctoral dissertation the author wrote on a co-tutorial
agreement between the two universities. Her work was supervised by Professors
José Rubens Morato Leite, Florianopolis, and Gerd Winter, Bremen.
Climate change is one of the most pressing concerns the entire world is facing.
Solutions much depend on appropriate laws and their implementation. Considering
that the stepping out of fossil energy is the best way to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, legal systems have for some time focused on how to promote renewable
energy. While this remains a major task for a long time to come, many projects
including windmill farms, photovoltaic plantations, biomass production, and hydro-
electric power dams show that there are adverse side effects especially on biodiver-
sity that must be taken into account.
Paula Galbiatti’s book is a major contribution to this effect. It examines how the
law promoting renewable energy sources can be made compatible with other
environmental interests, and, in particular, biodiversity protection. The author
takes a legal comparative perspective which enriches the scope of instruments
employed and allows to assess their effectiveness. Her cases are the Brazilian and
German legal frameworks. Germany is one of the leaders and precursors in the
energy transition toward renewable energy, with an effective increase in renewable
energy generation, especially from wind power. Brazil is an interesting contrasting
case because it has a much longer experience with renewables considering that it
generates around 70% of its electricity from hydropower plants and 9% of fuels is
generated from biomass. However, the large-scale plantations destroying the Ama-
zon Forest and other natural areas put the sustainability of the policy into question
and suggest to open the path to other sources, such as wind and solar energy.
The book is structured into 8 chapters. Chapter 1 presents the contextual and legal
background of the research. It summarizes the major mitigation policies including
the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the fostering of energy efficiency, the
inciting of energy sufficiency, and—as the author’s main interest—the transition
vii
viii Foreword
from fossil fuels to renewables, all this with a comparative perspective on Brazil and
Germany.
Chapter 2 has a methodological focus, explaining the research question, purpose
of the research, objectives, and the comparative method. The author favors a
functional approach taking the comparative legal concepts as causes and the bridging
of the conflict as tertium comparationis. She shows understanding for the limits of
the functional method in particular concerning differences in structural contexts but
has good arguments to defend that the two countries have sufficient elements in
common that justify a comparison.
Chapter 3 provides core facts about the share of renewable energy sources in the
electricity production of Brazil and Germany, highlighting the large shares of
hydropower in Brazil and fossil fuels in Germany, with the latter significantly
increasing its wind power capacity. As the author stresses, such data help understand
the country’s choice of energy sources and the background to promotional priorities.
Based on that, the chapter further describes high-level energy plans and supporting
instruments to renewable energy sources to foster Brazil and Germany’s energy
transition.
Chapter 4 is dedicated to an analysis of the conflicts between renewables and
other environmental concerns. It gives a comprehensive account of the different
dimensions of the conflict and is a major contribution to understanding the same,
both in relation to the two compared countries and in terms of a broader conceptu-
alization of the conflict. The author rightly points to the fact that apart from negative
side effects, renewables can also have positive environmental effects, such as in the
case of replacement of coal which besides protecting the climate avoids air and water
pollution.
Chapters 5 and 6 provide the legal analysis of the concrete levels of decision-
making for renewable energy projects in Brazil and Germany, which are land-use
planning and environmental licensing. In Chap. 5, the author examines land-use
planning as a potential tool of conflict resolution. She first summarizes the Brazilian
system distinguishing between principles guiding the planning and the kinds of
plans. She points to the fact that the principles while requiring a balancing of
socioeconomic and environmental concerns in general prioritize economic develop-
ment. Climate protection hardly appears as a concern. It is important to note that
Brazil does not yet know an environmental impact assessment for plans and pro-
grams. The author then presents the German land-use planning system. She correctly
points to the principle that planning authorities enjoy a broad margin of discretion to
decide about where to place certain land uses but are nevertheless bound by legal
criteria. Of particular importance is the requirement of fair balancing of affected
interests which the author correctly explains and illustrates by significant court cases.
Chapter 6 explores the environmental licensing framework focusing on require-
ments for renewable energy sources in general and, specifically, solar, wind, hydro-
power, and biomass installations. She rightly assesses the environmental impact
assessment as an instrument finding project designs bridging conflicts, but is also
realistic enough to point to the Brazilian practice that the social effects (such as job
opportunities, public services, and economic revenue) are normally given priority,
Foreword ix
and that the requirement of testing alternatives is restricted to geographical and

technological variants so that alternatives to a project as such are excluded from
consideration. Illustrative in this respect is a case study on the Belo Monte hydro-
power plant. Concerning Germany, the author shows that licensing is more densely
framed by regulation which however provides a differentiated but (over-)
complicated system of weighing up renewables and biodiversity protection.
Chapter 7 identifies similarities and differences of Brazilian and German law and
compares and evaluates their performance. It discusses the socioeconomic and legal-
cultural contexts influencing the comparability between Brazilian and German legal
approaches and the possibility of mutual learning. It then identifies cross-cutting
issues for weighing up interests that reappear both in land-use planning and envi-
ronmental licensing law: (i) discretionary margins in decision-making;
(ii) environmental impact assessments; (iii) compensation of impacts;
(iv) consideration of alternatives; and (v) procedures involving different concerns
through public participation.
Chapter 8 concludes the book, affirming that the two response levels found in
land-use planning and project licensing can indeed be used to compatibilize climate
protection with other environmental interests. The author recommends that Brazil
could learn from Germany by introducing the strategic environmental impact assess-
ment for land-use planning, more systematically fettering discretionary margins of
balancing interests, extending compensation for nature encroachments to measures
in kind instead of just monetary payments, and designing project licensing as bound
administrative acts. On the other hand, Germany may learn from Brazil by better
structuring the project licensing as well as by opening the legal system up to the
concept of collective interests which would entail to introduce the consideration of
social effects in the EIA and the respective broadening of access to public partici-
pation and court review.
Overall, this book fills a gap in the legal analysis of the energy transition by
focusing on the environmental aspects related to renewable energy projects. The
legal frameworks compared—Brazil and Germany—provide new insights into dif-
ferent approaches to solving the common problem of climate and biodiversity
protection.
We strongly recommend this book to be read by scholars and practitioners, and
we trust it will contribute to a better future of sustainable climate protection.
Universidade Metodista de Piracicaba Paulo Affonso Leme Machado

(UNIMEP), Piracicaba, Brazil
Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany Gerd Winter
Acknowledgments
Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisors, Prof. Dr. José Rubens Morato Leite
from the Federal University of Santa Catarina and Prof. Dr. Gerd Winter from the
University of Bremen, for their support, knowledge, and belief in my research. They
became my dearest friends and welcomed me into their universities and research
groups with open arms. Special thanks to Prof. Winter for his continuous effort and
help in making the publication of this book possible and enhancing the quality of
this work.
I am also grateful to the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the
Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), process
SCBA n. 88887.162449/2016-00, for funding my cotutelle research, allowing me
the experience to learn from different cultures and legal frameworks. As part of that,
I would like to thank the Grupo de Pesquisa Direito Ambiental e Ecologia Política
na Sociedade de Risco (GPDA) and the Forschungsstelle für Europäisches
Umweltrecht (FEU), especially Anna Himmelskamp and Antje Spalink.
My heartfelt thanks go to Prof. Dr. Patryck de Araújo Ayala, who inspired and
supported me since my graduate studies in Environmental Law. Many thanks also to
Prof. Dr. Letícia Albuquerque and Prof. Dr. Josef Falke for their essential contribu-
tions to this work.
Besides, this journey would not have been possible without the help and care of
my friends: Linda Schumacher, Fernanda Araújo, Pradeep Singh, Marina Dorileo,
Ana Paula Rengel, Marina Venâncio, Leonardo Guimarães, Laura Machado,
Rafaelle Bezerra, Plínio Furtat, Débora Pestana, Tasso Cipriano, Gabriela
Stahlhauer, Ana Paula Mendonça, Nicolas Plumier, and so many others. I would
like to express my thanks to Angela Beitzel-Berendes, Louise Purnhagen, André
Stahlhauer, and Tiago Rodrigues for their warm reception in Berlin. I also thank
Jurema Cardoso for her love and care, and making me part of her family.
Finally, all my love and gratitude to my parents, Maria Teresinha and Paulo, who
have made the most effort toward my education, incentivizing me to pursue my
xi
xii Acknowledgments
dreams with their unconditional love and support. They are my most outstanding
examples in life and gave me the foundation to face challenges and be an indepen-
dent woman. To my beloved sister and brother, Natália and Felipe, thank you for
always being there for me and understanding my journey around the world.
Contents
1 Contextual and Legal Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.1 Energy and Climate Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.1 Climate Changes: Scientific Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1.2 Climate Protection and the Energy Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Legal Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.1 Climate Protection Through Renewable Energy Sources in
International Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2.2 Climate Protection Through Renewable Energy Sources in
Brazilian and German Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3 Theoretical Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.3.1 Carbon to Low-Carbon Economy: Old Conflicts in the
Business-as-Usual Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.3.2 Energy Efficiency and Sufficiency: Energy for What and to
Whom? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1.4 The Energy Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.4.1 Concept and Challenges of the Current Energy
Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.4.2 Critics of the Current Energy Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2 Purpose of the Work and Comparative Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.1 Introductory Aspects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.1.1 Research Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.1.2 Answering the Research Question . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.1.3 Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.1.4 Justification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.2 Limiting the Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.2.1 Electricity Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.2.2 Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
xiii
xiv Contents
2.3 On the Comparative Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

2.3.1 Why Comparing Brazil and Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.3.2 The Functional Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.3.3 Research Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.3.4 Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.4 Structure of the Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3 Promotional Systems for Renewable Energy Sources in Brazil
and Germany: Consideration of Negative Effects in High-Level
Planning and Promotional Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.1.1 High-Level Planning and Impacts Management . . . . . . . . . 33
3.1.2 The Importance of Promotional Instruments for the
Energy Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3.2 Electricity Production and Transmission in Brazil and Germany . . . 35
3.2.1 The Share of Renewable Energy Sources in Brazil . . . . . . . 35
3.2.2 The Share of Renewable Energy Sources in Germany . . . . 37
3.3 Environmental Concerns and the Consideration of Side Effects
on High-Level Energy Planning in Brazil and Germany . . . . . . . . 39
3.3.1 High-Level Energy Planning in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
3.3.2 High-Level Energy Planning in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3.4 Promotional Instruments for Renewable Energy Projects
in Brazil and Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.4.1 Overview of the Legal Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.4.2 Legal Framework for the Promotion of Renewable
Energy Sources in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
3.4.3 Legal Framework for the Promotion of Renewable
Energy Sources in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.4.4 Summary: Promotional Instruments to Increase the Share
of Renewable Energy Sources and the Influence of Side
Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.5 Summary of the Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
4 Internal Environmental Conflicts in the Electricity Generation
from Renewable Energy Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
4.1 General Technical Aspects and Side Effects of Renewable
Energy Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
4.1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
4.1.2 How Renewable Energies Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
4.1.3 Co-Benefits of Renewable Energy Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
4.1.4 Negative Impacts Hindered in the Energy Transition
Discourse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Contents xv
4.2 Assessment of Side Effects in Concrete Renewable Energy

Projects in Brazil and Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
4.2.1 Solar Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4.2.2 Wind Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
4.2.3 Hydropower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
4.2.4 Biomass Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
4.3 Assessment of Connected Impacts from Renewable Energy
Sources: Transmission and Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
4.3.1 Transmission Grids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
4.3.2 Fossil Fuels Backup and Energy Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
4.4 Internal Conflicts in Environmental Law: Climate Protection and
Other Environmental Interests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
4.4.1 Internal Conflicts in Environmental Law in Brazil and
Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
4.4.2 Case Study: Climate Versus Biodiversity Protection . . . . . . 96
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
5 Legal Framework for the Resolution of Internal Conflicts
in Land-Use Planning for Renewable Energy Projects in Brazil
and Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
5.1 Conflicts Resolution in the Concrete Level of Decision-Making:
Land-Use Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
5.1.1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
5.1.2 Overview of the Legal System for Land-Use Planning in
Brazil and Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
5.2 Land-Use Planning in Brazil and Competition Between
Renewable Energy Projects and Other Land Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
5.2.1 The Legal System of Land-Use Planning in Brazil . . . . . . . 110
5.2.2 General Principles and Guidelines for Land-Use Planning
in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
5.2.3 Instruments for Concrete Level of Decision-Making
on Land-Use Planning in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
5.2.4 Criteria for the Resolution of Conflicts in Land-Use
Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
5.2.5 Summary: Weighing Up Environmental Interests
in Land-Use Planning in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
5.3 Land-Use Planning in Germany and Competition Between
Renewable Energy Projects and other Land Uses . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
5.3.1 The System of Land-Use Plans in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
5.3.2 Objectives and Basic Principles in Higher-Level Spatial
Planning (Raumordnungsplanung) in Germany . . . . . . . . . 138
5.3.3 Local Land-Use Plans: Master and Zoning Plans . . . . . . . . 143
xvi Contents
5.3.4 Criteria for the Solution of Conflicts in Land-Use

Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
5.3.5 Summary: Compatibility Between Climate Protection
Through Renewable Energy Sources and Other
Environmental Interests in Land-Use Planning
in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
5.4 Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) as an Instrument
to Deal with Conflicts During Energy Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
5.4.1 The Gap in the Legal Framework for Assessing Impacts
through SEA for Land-Use Planning in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . 154
5.4.2 Legal Framework for SEA in Germany and Practice for
Renewable Energies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
6 Legal Framework for the Solution of Internal Conflicts in the
Environmental Licensing Process of Renewable Energy Projects
in Brazil and Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
6.1 Conflicts Resolution in the Concrete Level of Decision-Making:
Project Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
6.2 Legal Framework for the Environmental Licensing Process of
Renewable Energy Projects in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
6.2.1 Summary of the Federal Legal Framework for the
Environmental Licensing Process and Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
6.2.2 Specific Regulations for the Environmental Licensing of
Renewable Energy Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
6.3 Balance of Interests in Decision-Making Within the Licensing
Process of Renewable Energy Projects in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
6.3.1 Limitations in Nature Protection Law to the Environmental
Licensing of Renewable Energy Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
6.3.2 Environmental Compensation of Impacts that Cannot be
Prevented . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
6.3.3 Balance of Interests in Decision-Making: the Concepts
of Public Utility and Social Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
6.3.4 Balancing Interests in the Environmental Licensing
Process of the Belo Monte Hydropower Plant . . . . . . . . . . 195
6.3.5 Weighing Up Interests in the Environmental Licensing
Process of Renewable Energy Projects in Brazil . . . . . . . . . 199
6.4 Legal Framework for the Environmental Licensing of Renewable
Energy Projects in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
6.4.1 General Requirements for Environmental Licensing and
Environmental Impact Assessment in Germany . . . . . . . . . 203
6.4.2 Formal and Simplified Environmental Licensing . . . . . . . . 208
6.4.3 Environmental Impact Assessment: UVP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Contents xvii
6.4.4 Applications of the Licensing Regime to Renewable

Energy Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
6.5 Highlighting the Core Balancing in Licensing in Germany:
Renewable Energy Versus Nature Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
6.5.1 Looking from Nature Protection to Renewable Energy
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
6.5.2 Looking from Renewable Energy Sources to the Protection
of Nature and Other Public Interests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
6.5.3 Exemplary Court Cases Balancing Wind Energy
Installations Against Nature Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
7 Comparative Analysis and Results for the Resolution of Internal
Conflicts in Land-Use Planning and Environmental Licensing of
Renewable Energy Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
7.1 Socioeconomic and Legal-Cultural Context . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
7.1.1 Similarities Concerning Socio-Economic and
Legal-Cultural Contexts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
7.1.2 Differences Concerning Socio-Economic and
Legal-Cultural Contexts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
7.2 Comparison and Evaluation: Cross-Cutting Issues and
Performance of Brazilian and German Law Regarding Internal
Environmental Conflicts from Renewable Energy Projects . . . . . . . 244
7.2.1 Discretionary Margins and the Fair Weighing up
of Concerns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
7.2.2 Assessment of Environmental Impacts in Planning and
Licensing of Renewable Energy Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
7.2.3 Consideration of Alternatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
7.2.4 Compensation for Impacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
7.2.5 Public Participation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
8 Conclusions and Final Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
8.1 How to Compatibilize Climate Protection with Other
Environmental Interests in Developing Renewable Energy
Sources? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
8.2 Lessons Learned from Brazil and Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Table of Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

European Union Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
International and Regional Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281
Table of Cases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
AAI Avaliação Ambiental Integrada

ABEEólica Associação Brasileira de Energia Eólica
ABNT Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas
ADC Ação Declaratória de Constitucionalidade
AEE Agentur für Erneuerbare Energien e. V.
ANEEL Agência Nacional de Energia Elétrica
ANP Agência Nacional do Petróleo, Gás Natural e
Biocombustíveis
APP Área de Preservação Permanente
AWZ Ausschließliche Wirtschaftszone
BBSR Bundesinstitut für Bau-, Stadt- und Raumforschung
BMU Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und nukleare
Sicherheit
BMWi Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie
BNetzA Bundesnetzagentur
BSH Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie
BSW Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft eV
BVerwG Bundesverwaltungsgericht
CAR Cadastro Ambiental Rural
CCS Carbon capture and storage
CER Certificado de Energia Renovável
CER Certified Emissions Reduction
CGH Central geradora hidrelétrica com capacidade instalada
reduzida
CH4 Methane
CNPE Conselho Nacional de Política Energética
CO2 Carbon dioxide
CO2 – eq. Carbon dioxide equivalent
CONAMA Conselho Nacional do Meio Ambiente
COP Conference of the Parties
CS Campo solar
xix
xx List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
CSP Concentrated solar power

CTNBio Comissão Técnica Nacional de Biossegurança
DILA Declaração de inexigibilidade de licenciamento ambiental
DUP Declaração de Utilidade Pública
DW Deutsche Welle
EC European Commission
ECI Estudo de Componente Indígena
ECJ European Court of Justice
EEA European Environmental Agency
EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone
EIA Environmental Impact Assessment or Estudo de Impacto
Ambiental
EIV Estudo Prévio de Impacto de Vizinhança
ELF Extremely low frequency
EMF Electromagnetic fields
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
EPE Empresa de Pesquisa Energética
EU European Union
FiT Feed-in tariff
FUNAI Fundação Nacional do Índio
GDP Gross domestic product
GHG Greenhouse gas
GW Gigawatt
GWEC Global Wind Energy Council
GWh/year Gigawatt hours per year
Hz Hertz
IARC International Agency for Research on Cancer
IBAMA Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos
Naturais Renováveis
ICHR Interamerican Commission on Human Rights
IDA Índice de Degradação Ambiental
IEA International Energy Agency
IHA International Hydropower Association
ILO International Labor Organization
INCRA Instituto Nacional de Colonização e Reforma Agrária
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IRENA International Renewable Energy Agency
ISA Instituto Socioambiental
IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature
KHZ Kilohertz
kWh kilowatt-hour
LAC Licença ambiental por adesão e compromisso
LAG VSW Länderarbeitsgemeinschaft der Vogelschutzwarten
LAS Licença ambiental simplificada
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations xxi
LAU Licença ambiental unificada

LC Lei Complementar
LI Licença de instalação
LIO Licença de instalação e operação
LO Licença de operação
LP Licença prévia
LPNMA Lei da Política Nacional do Meio Ambiente
LU Licença unificada
LULUCF Land use, land-use change, and forestry
MAB Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens
MEN 2030 Matriz Energética Nacional 2030
MGH Minigeradora hidrelétrica
MMA Ministério do Meio Ambiente
MME Ministério de Minas e Energia
MPF Ministério Público Federal
MS Member States
MW Megawatt
NABU Naturschutzbund Deutschland
NBR Norma Técnica
NDC Nationally Determined Contribution
NECP National Climate and Energy Plan
NEPA National Environmental Policy Act
NO2 Nitrous oxide
ONS Operador Nacional do Sistema Elétrico
OVG Niedersachsen Oberverwaltungsgericht Niedersachsen
PAC Programa de Aceleração do Crescimento
PBMC Painel Brasileiro de Mudanças Climáticas
PCH Pequena Central Hidrelétrica
PDE 2030 Plano Decenal de Expansão de Energia 2030
PERS Programa de Energia Renovável Social
PET/PELP Programa de Expansão da Transmissão /Plano de
Expansão de Longo Prazo
PNE 2050 Plano Nacional de Energia 2050
PNEf Plano Nacional Eficiência Energética
PNMC Política Nacional sobre Mudança do Clima
PNRH Política Nacional de Recursos Hídricos
PNRS Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos
PRA Programa de Regularização Ambiental
Proálcool Programa Nacional do Álcool
PROCONVE Programa de Controle de Poluição do Ar por Veículos
Automotores
Proinfa Programa de Incentivo às Fontes Alternativas de Energia
Elétrica
PV Solar photovoltaic
xxii List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
RAS Relatório Ambiental Simplificado

RE Renewable energy
RED Recursos Energéticos Distribuídos
REN Resolução Normativa
RF Radiofrequency
RIMA Relatório de Impacto Ambiental
SCEE Sistema de Compensação de Energia Elétrica
SEA Strategic Environmental Assessment
SEEG Sistema de Estimativa de Emissões de Gases de Efeito
Estufa
SIN Sistema Interligado Nacional
SISNAMA Sistema Nacional do Meio Ambiente
SNUC Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservação da Natureza
SRREN Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate
Change Mitigation
SRU Sachverständigenrat für Umweltfragen
STF Supremo Tribunal Federal
STJ Superior Tribunal de Justiça
SUP Strategische Umweltprüfung
SWB Stadtwerke Bremen
TI Terra Indígena
TRF1 Tribunal Regional Federal da 1. Região
TSO Transmission system operators
UBA Umweltbundesamt
UHE Usina hidrelétrica
UN United Nations
UNECE The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
UNEP United Nations Environment Program
UVP Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung
WBA World Bioenergy Association
WHO World Health Organization
WMO World Meteorological Organization
WRI World Resources Institute
ZEE Zoneamento Ecológico-Econômico
List of Figures
Fig. 4.1 Conflicts Between Climate Protection and other Environmental

interests . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . .. . . . .. . . .. . . .. . 94
Fig. 5.1 Legal Framework for Land-Use Planning in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Fig. 5.2 Levels and Hierarchy of Land-use Planning in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Fig. 6.1 Three-Phase Licensing Model in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Fig. 6.2 Interests Balanced in the Court Decision Suspending the Operating
License of Belo Monte Hydropower Plant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Fig. 6.3 Summary of the Licensing Process of Renewable Energy Projects
in Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Fig. 6.4 Environmental Licensing Systems in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Fig. 6.5 Project Plan Approval Procedure in the WHG . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 226
Fig. 6.6 Mitigation Hierarchy under the BNatSchG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
xxiii
List of Tables
Table 1.1 Energy Sources Considered in Various Definitions of “Energy

Transition” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Table 3.1 Electricity Generation by Source between 2015 and 2020 in
Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Table 3.2 Summary of Promotional Instruments for Renewable Energy
Sources in Brazil and Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Table 4.1 Systematization of Impacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Table 5.1 Zoning Scales and Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Table 5.2 Objectives and Principles for Wind and Solar Energy in the State
Development Plan of Schleswig-Holstein . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Table 6.1 General and Specific Regulations for the Environmental
Licensing Process of Renewable Energy Projects in Brazil . . . . . . 200
Table 6.2 Licensing of Renewable Energy Projects in the BImSchG and the
UVPG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Table 6.3 Environmental Licensing Process and UVP of Renewable
Energy Projects in Germany . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 218
xxv
Chapter 1
Contextual and Legal Background
Climate change is caused by greenhouse gas (GHG) emitted into the atmosphere
mainly for energy production, whose adverse effects impact humans and nature
enormously. In this context, law plays an essential role in establishing mitigation
measures to diminish emissions. Among these measures, renewable energy sources
are supported and installed as priority activities for climate protection benefits.
Therefore, this chapter brings the context of the work, connecting the promotion
of renewable energy projects for climate protection. Then, it introduces climate
change law in both international and national legal frameworks in Brazil and
Germany. Lastly, it criticizes current energy systems based on fossil fuels,
explaining the transition from a carbon-based economy to renewable energy sources
within a broader and integrated approach to achieve sustainability.
1.1 Energy and Climate Changes
1.1.1 Climate Changes: Scientific Background
Climate changes are one of the biggest concerns worldwide, even though the
knowledge about the heat absorption of gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2),
and their role in climate variability has existed since the nineteenth century.1 In
1988, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations
Environment Program (UNEP) jointly established the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC is responsible for assessing scientific informa-
tion on climate change, determining its environmental and socioeconomic impacts,
and formulating strategies.2 The IPCC issued several assessments, including the first
1
Bolin (2007), pp. 3–7.
2
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2022a).
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 1

P. Galbiatti Silveira, Climate Protection and Environmental Interests in Renewable
Energy Law, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11605-6_1
2 1 Contextual and Legal Background
in 1990, a special report on the global warming impacts of 1.5 C in 2018, and the
sixth assessment report to be finalized in 2022 but with the first and second parts
already published.3
According to the Summary for Policymakers of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment
Report of 2021 on the physical science basis of climate change, “it is unequivocal
that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land,” resulting in
“widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and bio-
sphere”.4 The observed changes include heatwaves, heavy precipitation, droughts,
and tropical cyclones already affecting the globe.5
As for the causes, the IPCC affirms the unprecedented increase in anthropogenic
GHG emissions.6 Most of them derive from fossil fuel combustion in the energy
sector, including electricity7 and industrial processes.8 As a result, mitigation mea-
sures are necessary to avoid or reduce the negative impacts of climate change,
meaning “very high risk of severe, widespread and irreversible impacts globally.”9
1.1.2 Climate Protection and the Energy Sector
Commitments to reduce emissions pose a global challenge to decarbonize the

economy and society, shifting from an energy system based on carbon (fossil
fuels) to a non-carbon one (renewable sources). The World Resources Institute
(WRI), for instance, affirms that “the power sector is the single largest greenhouse
gas emitter globally.”10 As a result, renewable energy sources (RE) are primary
mitigation instruments essential for climate protection.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) explains that renewables
have become central to national policies for climate protection and must grow to
meet climate goals, which requires doubling annual investments by 2030.11 The
Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation
(SRREN) of the IPCC affirms that RE has significant potential to mitigate GHG
3
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2022b).
4
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2021), p. 6.
5
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2021), pp. 11–13.
6
For example CO2, methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (NO2). See Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) (2021), p. 10.
7
In 2021, 62% of the global electricity generation was based on fossil fuels. See International
Energy Agency (IEA) (2022a), p. 11. In 1980, for example, the total was 69.62%, which shows an
increase in renewable sources but still low. See Empresa de Pesquisa Energética (EPE) (2020),
pp. 36–37.
8
Industrial processes are responsible for about 78% of the emissions increase from 1970 to 2010.
See Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2014), pp. 2–5.
9
10
World Resources Institute (WRI) (2022).
11
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) (2020).
1.2 Legal Framework 3
emissions. The SRREN analyzes different RE strategies in medium- and long-term

mitigation scenarios. It shows that RE will become the dominant low-carbon energy
supply option by 2050 in most of them, contributing to lower GHG concentration
levels when combined with other low-carbon energy options and energy efficiency
improvements.12 The SRREN also indicates that mitigation costs might increase,
and a low GHG concentration might fail if the deployment of RE is limited.13
Furthermore, the IPCC special report on the global warming impacts of 1.5 C
also evaluates “emission pathways and system transitions consistent with 1.5 C
global warming,”14 considering different measures, such as lower energy intensity
and “broad mitigation in the energy sector.”15 The best-evaluated scenario (P1) is
based on lower energy demand, in which a “downsized energy system” enables
“rapid decarbonization of energy supply” with a share of renewables in electricity of
60% in 2030 and 77% in 2050 to limit temperature increase by 1.5 C.16 The report
straightens the view of the energy sector as the most responsible for emissions and,
therefore, the one with great potential to mitigate climate changes.
1.2 Legal Framework
1.2.1 Climate Protection Through Renewable Energy

Sources in International Law
Renewable energies are the ones collected from renewable sources. International
climate protection law calls for a shift from fossil fuels to RE because they do not
emit or emit less GHG into the atmosphere. In this sense, both international and
national legal frameworks establish climate protection goals through renewable
energy sources.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Changes (UNFCCC) and
the Paris Agreement (PA) are the most important climate protection international
laws. The First Assessment Report of the IPCC served as the scientific basis of
climate change evidence that led to the UNFCCC in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit.
12
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2011), pp. 20–24.
13
However, the SRREN alerts that precise numbers and cost assessments about the role of RE in
climate mitigation are uncertain as related to many factors that influence its deployment. These
factors include energy demand growth and competition with other CO2 emission reduction sources,
such as nuclear energy and fossil energy with carbon capture and storage (CCS). See Intergovern-
mental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2011), pp. 131–132.
14
15
16
Since March 21, 1994, it has been in force with almost universal participation—197
Parties, including the European Union (EU).17
Even though the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997 to foster emissions
reduction,18 it did not include significant emitters such as the United States of
America and targets for developing countries to reduce emissions.19 In 2015, during
the Conference of the Parties (COP) 21, the PA brought all nations together to face
climate changes. The PA is a treaty under the UNFCCC considered “a landmark in
international climate policy.”20
The PA entered into force on November 4, 2016, with 193 Parties of 197 to the
UNFCCC.21 The PA sets an overall purpose and long-term goal to hold the “increase
in the global average temperature to well below 2 C above pre-industrial levels and
pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 C above pre-industrial
levels”.22 Under the PA, global emissions must come to zero (balance between
emissions by sources and removals by sinks) until the second half of the century.23 It
also establishes that all Parties must present their Nationally Determined Contribu-
tions (NDC) every five years.24 NDCs are “climate action plans setting out what a
party intends to do on mitigation over certain time period”25 and must always be
progressive and affirm the countries’ highest possible ambition.26
Mitigation and adaptation are two central concepts within the UNFCCC and the
PA. Mitigation measures mean limiting GHG anthropogenic emissions protecting
and enhancing sinks and reservoirs,27 while the UNFCCC does not define adaptation
explicitly. Still, the PA establishes a global goal on adaptation to improve adaptive
capacity, strengthen resilience, and reduce vulnerability to climate changes, contrib-
uting to sustainable development.28
Countries must increase mitigation efforts to diminish GHG emissions, mainly
from the energy sector, to achieve the adopted goals and keep global temperature
increase below 2 C above pre-industrial levels while pursuing efforts to limit it to
1.5 C. Therefore, decarbonizing the energy sector means an energy transition to
renewable sources.
17
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (2022a).
18
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (2022b).
19
China and India were countries ranked within the top ten CO2 biggest emitters in 2014. China
contributed to 30% of global emissions and India to 7%. United States Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) (2022).
20
Ralph et al. (2016), p. 2.
21
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (2022c).
22
Paris Agreement (PA), Article 2 (1) (a).
23
Paris Agreement (PA), Article 4 (1).
24
Paris Agremeent (PA), Article 4 (2).
25
Ralph et al. (2016), p. 8.
26
Paris Agreement (PA), Articles 4 (1), 4 (2), and 4 (9).
27
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Article 4 (2) (a).
28
Paris Agreement (PA), Article 7.
Scholars and negotiators during COP 21 argue that the primary motive for
achieving the PA is the economic and technical development and feasibility of
renewable energies. Even during the COP 23 to the UNFCCC in 2017, many
institutions and countries affirmed that 100% renewables are entirely possible and
happening much faster than previously expected.29
1.2.2 Climate Protection Through Renewable Energy

Sources in Brazilian and German Law
Brazilian and German legal frameworks foster renewable energies for climate
protection. Both countries are Parties to the UNFCCC and the PA, committing to
reducing GHG emissions. Among the actions needed to achieve its goals, the NDC
and national climate protection framework consider renewable energy sources and
the decarbonization of the energy sector.
1.2.2.1 Legal Commitments for Climate Protection Through Renewable

Energy Sources in Brazil
Brazilian last GHG emissions report was published in 2021, analyzing emissions
between 1970 and 2020. In 2020, gross emissions by sector corresponded to 46%
from land-use change;30 27% from food cropping and livestock; 18% from energy;31
5% from industrial processes and product use;32 and 5% from waste.33 In 2020,
Brazil’s gross GHG emissions increased by 9.5%34 due to land-use change and
deforestation in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes.
Specifically for the energy sector, the 2020 report informs that it decreased by
4.6% from 2019 and has the lowest value since 2011.35 The emissions from
29
Information collected by the author at COP 23.
30
The land-use change sector includes forest residues, land use change, and vegetation removal in
protected areas by land use change or secondary vegetation. Most of the gross emissions (93%) are
caused by land use change, which mostly consists of deforestation in the Amazon biome, concen-
trating 78.4% of the sector’s gross emissions. Greenhouse Gas Emission and Removal Estimating
System (SEEG) (2021), pp. 29–30.
31
The energy sector includes the emissions associated with transportation, industrial energy
consumption, fuel production, and electricity generation. See Greenhouse Gas Emission and
Removal Estimating System (SEEG) (2021), p. 19.
32
Industrial processes and product use refer to emissions from physical or chemical transformation
of materiaks in the industry. See Greenhouse Gas Emission and Removal Estimating System
(SEEG) (2021), p. 24.
33
Greenhouse Gas Emission and Removal Estimating System (SEEG) (2021), p. 4.
34
35
electricity generation are the most variable because of the country’s economic
dynamics and the profile of the energy sources used to generate electricity condi-
tioned to the rainfall regime (greater or lesser use of hydropower or fossil fuel
thermoelectric plants). As a result, emissions from electricity generation decreased
by 11.1% in 2020 due to the drop in thermoelectric generation, the minor variation of
hydropower plant capacity, and the increase in renewable sources.36
In 2009, Law No. 12.187/2009 established the National Policy on Climate
Change (Política Nacional sobre Mudança do Clima—PNMC). It has voluntary
commitments to reduce emissions between 36.1% and 38.9% of projected emissions
only until 2020, and it has not yet been updated (the project emissions corresponded
to 3.236 million tons of CO2-eq according to Decree No. 9.578/2018 regulating the
PNMC).37,38 Decree No. 9.578/2018 establishes actions to achieve the voluntary
commitments, such as reducing deforestation and expanding hydropower plants and
alternative renewable energy sources (wind energy, small hydropower plants, bio-
electricity, and biofuels).39 In addition to the PNMC, Law No. 9.478/1997
establishing the Brazilian National Energy Policy40 sets the objective of national
energy policies to promote the generation of electricity from biomass and
by-products from biofuels as considered clean, renewable, and complementary to
hydropower. Another goal of national energy policies is to mitigate GHG and
polluting emissions in the electricity sector.
The Brazilian NDC to the PA considers RE mitigation instruments and a mitiga-
tion target commitment to reduce GHG emissions by 37% below 2005 levels until
2025, with a subsequent indicative contribution of 43% reduction below 2005 levels
until 2030.41 In 2021, Brazil anticipated its long-term objective of achieving climate
neutrality by 2050 instead of 2060.42 Following the NDC, Brazil presented addi-
tional information affirming the country “will strive for a transition towards energy
systems based on renewable sources and the decarbonization of the global economy
by the end of the century, in the context of sustainable development and access to the
financial and technological means necessary for this transition.”43
36
37
Law No. 12.187/2009, Article 12, Decree No. 9.578/2018, Article 18.
38
In August 2021, Decree No. 10.845/2021 created the Interministerial Committee on Climate
Change and Green Growth (CIM) to propose updates to the PNMC. See Decree No. 10.845/2021,
Article 2 (V). Besides, CIM Resolution No. 2/2021 approved the creation a temporary technical
group to update the PNMC. See CIM No. Resolution 2/2021, Article 1. There are currently several
bills under discussion in the National Congress to update the PNMC to the NDC. For instance, Bill
6.539/2019 was already approved by the Federal Senate and is since November 30, 2021 at the
Mines and Energy Commission of the Chamber of Deputies for analysis.
39
Decree No. 9.578/2018, Article 19 (III).
40
Law No. 9.478/1997, Article 1 (XIV) and (XVIII).
41
Brazil presented its first NDC in 2016 and confirmed its commitments in 2020. See Federative
Republic of Brazil (2016, 2020).
42
Federative Republic of Brazil (2021).
43
Federative Republic of Brazil (2016), p. 1.
To be consistent with the proposed goal, Brazil intends to achieve 45% of

renewable energy sources by 2030, including expanding sources other than hydro-
power in the total energy mix between 28% and 33%. It also predicts the develop-
ment of non-fossil fuel energy sources, increasing the share of renewables other than
hydropower (wind, biomass, and solar) in the power supply to at least 23% by 2030
and electricity efficiency by 10%.44
However, the federal government is not committed to fulfilling its climate
protection obligations. The lack of commitment is observed in the country’s with-
drawal from hosting the COP in 2019;45 the extinction of climate change in the
environmental sector of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs46 and the Secretariat of
Climate Change and Forests of the Ministry of Environment; and the shelving of
prevention and control of deforestation plans.47,48
The current government’s policy is to weaken environmental bodies, resulting in,
for instance, an illegal burning crisis in the Amazon Forest in 2019,49 a 50% increase
in deforestation in the Amazon in the same year, and a 278% deforestation increase
rate in July 2019 compared to the same month in the previous year.50 Furthermore,
the National Strategy to Implement and Finance the Brazilian NDC51 had no further
developments since 2018.52
1.2.2.2 Legal Commitments for Climate Protection Through Renewable

Energy Sources in Germany
German emissions are accounted for together with the European ones in many
reports and the NDC. GHG emissions sources from the EU and Germany follow
the global trend derived from the energy sector (fuel combustion activities, fugitive
emissions, and CO2 transport and storage), totaling 77% in 2019, excluding land use,
land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF).53 Public electricity and heat production
represent 26% of the total, followed by 28% road transportation, 15% manufacturing
44
Federative Republic of Brazil (2016), p. 3.
45
Deutsche Welle (DW) (2018).
46
Folha de São Paulo (2019).
47
These plans are the Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon
(Plano de Ação para Prevenção e Controle do Desmatamento na Amazônia Legal - PPCDam) and
the Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Cerrado (Plano de Ação para
Prevenção e Controle do Desmatamento no Cerrado - PPCerrado), revoked by Decree No. 10.142/
2019 establishing the Executive Committee for the Control of Illegal Logging and Recovery of
Native Vegetation.
48
49
Deutsche Welle (DW) (2019).
50
Observatório do Clima (2019).
51
Ministério do Meio Ambiente (MMA) (2017).
52
Ministério do Meio Ambiente (MMA) (2022).
53
European Environmental Agency (EEA) (2021), p. 83.
industries and construction, 12% residential, 4% commercial/institutional, 4% petro-

leum refining, and 10% others.54
The European Environmental Agency (EEA) reports a 3.9% decrease in emis-
sions between 2018 and 2019 and a total of 28.3% below 1990 levels. Emissions
from electricity and heat production have also strongly diminished since 1990. The
EEA highlights that the emissions decreased while the gross domestic product
(GDP) continued to grow, which indicates that emissions and economic growth
are decoupled.55
Germany remains the largest emitter in the EU, accounting for 20% of the
emissions in 2019.56 In the same year, German emissions by sector totalized
83.65% from energy,57 7.64% from agriculture, 7.58% from industrial processes,
and 1.14% from waste, without information on LULUCF.58
German legal commitments on climate protection comprise the objectives of the
EU and within domestic law. The European Green Deal59 is a package of measures
including the cut of GHG emissions referring to the European Climate Law60 on the
2050 climate-neutrality objective, the European Climate Pact61 to enhance engage-
ment in climate action, the 2030 Climate Target Plan62 to reduce net emissions by at
least 55% by 2030, and the EU Strategy on Climate Adaptation63 to achieve the
mentioned goals.
Concerning energy issues, the European Climate Law requires the European
Commission (EC) to assess the consistency of national measures with national
energy and climate plans.64 Specifically coupling energy and climate, the 2030
climate & energy framework sets three key targets for 2030, such as to cut at least
40% in GHG emissions from 1990 levels.65
Germany presented its NDC to the PA within the EU in 2016 and the updated
version in 2020. The updated NDC sets a binding target of net domestic GHG
54
European Environmental Agency (EEA) (2021), p. 84.
55
European Environmental Agency (EEA) (2021), pp. iii–v.
56
European Environmental Agency (EEA) (2021), p. x.
57
The energy sector includes energy industries, manufacturing industries and constructions, trans-
port, military, fugitive emissions from fuels, and others. See Umweltbundesamt (UBA)
(2021), p. 147.
58
Umweltbundesamt (UBA) (2021), p. 68.
59
European Commission (EC) (2019), p. 2.
60
Regulation 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021
establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending regulations (EC) 401/
2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’), Articles 1 and 2 (1)
61
European Union (EU) (2022).
62
63
64
Regulation 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 2021
establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending regulations (EC) 401/
2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’), Article 7 (1) (a).
65
European Commission (EC) (2022).
1.3 Theoretical Framework 9
emissions reduction of at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels in the EU66
(instead of the 40% reduction target in the first NDC).67
Furthermore, Germany committed to reducing emissions by 65% from 1990
levels until 2030 and by 88% until 2040 under the Federal Climate Change Act
(Bundes-Klimaschutzgesetz—KSG).68 Since 2016, Germany has established its
Klimaschutzplan 2050 to confirm climate protection goals, aiming to reduce
56-55% of its CO2-eq emissions compared to 1990 levels by 2030.69 The climate
protection plan highlights that climate and energy policies are linked, and climate
protection is impossible without a sustainable energy policy.70
As a result, the Renewable Energy Sources Act (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz—
EEG) promotes climate protection through RE. The EEG entered into force in 2000,
setting an objective of implementing the sustainable development of the energy
supply by promoting renewable energies, especially for climate and nature protec-
tion.71 To achieve this goal, 65% of German electricity must be from renewable
sources until 2030, and all electricity generated or consumed must be GHG neutral
until 2050.72
1.3 Theoretical Framework
1.3.1 Carbon to Low-Carbon Economy: Old Conflicts

in the Business-as-Usual Approach
Carbon grounds the world’s current economy and way of living. Since the industrial
revolution, fossil fuels have shaped almost every aspect of life. It has been the
“backbone of modern lifestyles and economic development”,73 from electricity
production to transportation, industrial processes, plastic manufacturing, and
66
Submission by Germany and the European Commission on Behalf of the European Union and its
Member States (2020), p. 6.
67
Submission by Latvia and the European Commission on Behalf of the European Union and its
Member States (2015), p. 1.
68
Federal Climate Change Act: KSG, Article 3 (1) (1) and (2).
69
Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und nukleare Sicherheit (BMU), p. 34.
70
Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und nukleare Sicherheit (BMU), p. 34.
71
Renewable Energy Sources Act: EEG, Article 1 (1).
72
Renewable Energy Sources Act: EEG, Article 1 (2) and (2).
73
Sovacool and Dworkin (2014), p. 32.
agriculture.74 Economic growth is a central global concern75 and is arguably corre-

lated to fossil fuels.76
Urry considers the twentieth century a high-carbon one without precedents due to
capitalism’s deep dependence on cheap oil and argues that energy and consumption
were among its most fundamental contradictions.77 The modern world is character-
ized and possible by burning fossil fuels on a gigantic scale.78 Similarly, Bradshaw
states that the fabric of today’s economy and political system is dependent on a
plentiful and cheap supply of fossil fuels, including the spatial organization of the
global economy.79
The construction of large-scale global infrastructure and the enormous subsi-
dies80 for fossil fuels influenced them to become the basis of life and the economy.
Those cultural and infrastructural reasons are excuses for the late deployment of RE,
together with the mainstream idea that economic growth and energy consumption
are correlated. Because of that, the setting out of RE is mainly approached with a
financial focus, missing critical environmental and social aspects.81
The implementation of RE began globally as a matter of energy security, consid-
ering resource availability and the geopolitics of fossil fuels, avoiding fuel depen-
dency and the lack of resources. The diversification to other sources initiated
investments in RE, such as hydro and nuclear power, whose development remained
limited to traditional sources until climate concerns resurged RE discussions and
related problems.
Because of escalating impacts caused by fossil fuels (old conflicts), the moment is
set to cease this period of fossil fuel economic growth and rethink the path to the
future. The overall goal to achieve carbon neutrality starts with shifting from a fossil
fuel energy system to a renewable one. More to the point, when considering carbon-
neutrality-related concepts, energy is always seen as the epitome of the transition and
a post-fossil fuel sustainable development achievement.
74
About the dependence on fossil fuel-based fertilizers to agriculture, see Sovacool and Dworkin
(2014), pp. 65–68. For a critical understanding of modern industrial agriculture, see Shiva (1993)
and Shiva (2016).
75
About economic growth and progress, see Daly (2013), pp. 20–24. Economic growth is also
included in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8), which targets per capita
economic growth, economic productivity, among others. See United Nations (UN) (2022a).
76
Newell and Mulvaney (2013), p. 132.
77
Urry considers the twentieth century capitalism the shift to a high-carbon economy/society/
consumption in the rich North, leaving a “bleak legacy for the new century”. The author also
names the dependence on cheap oil as “The Great Addiction”. See Urry (2010), pp. 191–212.
78
Urry (2010), p. 2012.
79
Bradshaw (2010), pp. 275–290.
80
Even though the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that subsidies for fossil fuel
consumption decreased 40% in 2020 from 2019 levels, the lowest since it started to be tracked in
2007, it remains higher than the estimated support for renewable energy. The IEA expresses its
concern for such subsidies in the need to increase clean energy sources as they discourage the
adoption of RE. See International Energy Agency (IEA) (2022b).
81
Hirsch and Sovacool (2013), pp. 705–706.
1.3 Theoretical Framework 11
Contrary to the well-known concept of fossil fuel-based economies and societies,

carbon-neutrality-related issues might not be very present. A revision of low-carbon
development literature found seven perceptions that appear the most and, at its core,
energy systems, including RE as substitutes for fossil fuels, energy efficiency, and
better energy use.82
As a consequence, a call for decarbonization has been made. The IPCC, for
instance, defines decarbonization as “the declining average carbon intensity of
primary energy over time” or reduction of “the carbon intensity of energy”.83 The
decarbonizing economy begins with transforming the energy system into one that
does not emit GHG, meaning it does not harm the climate.
However, a low-carbon transition has been reproducing the economic growth
discourse (as the ultimate goal of societies) but spiced with CO2 reduction goals and
climate protection commitments. The argument that more energy is needed to
continue growing exemplifies this discourse. Energy issues are often taken for
granted because of the mentioned correlation between fossil fuels and economic
growth and the broad definition of “energy”.
1.3.2 Energy Efficiency and Sufficiency: Energy for What

and to Whom?
Even though there is no doubt about the need for energy transition, the increasing
energy demand results in the maintenance of the business-as-usual approach, which
correlates with economic growth and energy production. For instance, in 2021,
768 million people still lacked access to electricity.84 Demand assessments in Brazil
for 2021–2025 estimate consumption to grow at an average rate of 3.6% per year.85
In Germany, electricity demand will be between 645 and 665 billion kilowatt-hours
in 203086 (in 2020, the energy use in Germany was 502.6 billion kilowatt-hours)87
despite historical decrease and energy efficiency measures.
These projections lead to energy efficiency, one of the main discussions in the
energy transition together with RE. It means that a higher consumption would be
possible with the same amount of energy produced, decreasing consumption, reduc-
ing energy price, GHG emissions, and the need for infrastructure while increasing
82
Yuan et al. (2011), pp. 1706–1711.
83
84
International Energy Agency (IEA) (2021). Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable,
and modern energy for all by 2030 is a goal of the United Nations in the Sustainable Development
Goal 7 (SDG 7). See United Nations (UN) (2022b).
85
Empresa de Pesquisa Energética (EPE) (2021), p. 2.
86
Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz (BMWi) (2021).
87
Destatis (2022).
energy security.88 For example, the German National Action Plan on Energy
Efficiency considers energy efficiency one of the two critical elements of Germany’s
energy transition.89
However, low energy costs could cause the rebound effect,90 fostering more
consumption. It means that cost savings can encourage consumers to upgrade to a
more extensive product instead of replacing an old one with a more efficient one. In
the EU, “11 member states experienced rebound effects over 50%, with six of these
over 100%”.91
As mentioned, the energy discourse remains that growth and development require
more energy. According to Shove and Walker, energy efficiency policies are not
neutral, play an essential role in “reproducing the status quo and sustaining and
legitimizing contemporary material arrangements and practices”, and represent a
“major drawback” for long-term sustainability.92 Efficiency strategies are based on
economic or command and control instruments and “means more intensive utiliza-
tion or shared utilization of goods”.93
Energy sufficiency, on the contrary, questions consumption reasons and the
amount of consumed energy. It means to renounce using resources, implemented
through service, infrastructure, and communication instruments. It aims to change
consumers’ lifestyles to adopt sustainable consumption patterns that do not surpass
the capacities of ecological systems.94
Both approaches are complementary as they seek to reduce environmental prob-
lems through resource reduction and energy transition, although oriented quantita-
tively.95 Ekardt and Wieding warn that sufficiency measures are essential not to
mistake energy transition as power transition, relying only on technical approaches.
The authors argue that, as energy and climate issues are rooted in a quantity problem,
88
European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) (2015), p. 1.
89
Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Klimaschutz (BMWi) (2014), p. 4.
90
Gillingham et al. (2016), p. 69.
91
European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) (2015), p. 3.
92
Shove and Walker (2014), p. 53. The authors also argue “the project of persuading individuals to
meet current needs with fewer resources constitutes what seems to be a self-evidently sensible goal
that can be safely pursued without fear or stirring up a hornets’ nest of uncomfortable questions
about the sustainability or otherwise of present constellations of practice”.
93
Mauch et al. (2001), p. 133.
94
Mauch et al. (2001), p. 134.
95
Mauch et al. (2001), p. 134. On the contraty, Darby defines sufficiency not only in quantitative,
but also in qualitative terms. Qualitative implies “wealth and plenty”, meaning that “a purpose is
achieved, a need is satisfied, and some sort of optimal state has been reached”. It is a subjective
approach and frequently used related to individuals. The quantitative definition, in the opposite,
implies “a clear threshold of acceptability”. It is more objective because it uses fixed points of
reference. See Darby (2017, p. 111). Winter also argues that the quantitative approach must be
avoided, focusing on a qualitative one that implies human self-limitation that revises blind eco-
nomic growth. See Winter (2017), pp. 267–276.
1.4 The Energy Transition 13
fossil fuels phase-out must be addressed structurally to resolve other environmental

issues concomitantly.96
1.4 The Energy Transition
1.4.1 Concept and Challenges of the Current Energy

Transition
It is beyond dispute today that RE must base the energy production, moving away
from fossil fuels. This concept is known as energy transition, inaugurated by the
German’s Energiewende to switch from nuclear and fossil energy to renewable
sources. This concept was later spread worldwide, especially after human impacts
on climate have dominated the global agenda.
The energy transition has become a significant subject within the international
climate change discussion. The IPCC considers the need for “rapid and far-reaching
transitions in energy, land, urban and infrastructure (including transport and build-
ings), and industrial systems” with high confidence to achieve the PA’s targets.97
Energy transitions are not new. However, the current one is defined as societies’
attempt to shift from hundreds of years (since the industrial revolution) of environ-
mental degradation and pollution and the intensive use of natural resources to a
sustainable future. Because of the ensuing conflicts and problems derived from this
transition, one must not underestimate the difficulties and complexities of the current
energy transition.
1.4.1.1 General Definitions of Energy Transition
The shift from fossil fuels to RE aims at a 100% renewable energy matrix in the long
term. It includes (a) the deployment of renewables instead of fossil fuels for climate
protection goals and (b) the shutting down of current fossil fuel and nuclear plants.
This definition is essential because each concept of energy systems comprises
various sources. Table 1.1 provides an overview based on Meadowcroft on the
multiple characterizations of the energy transition as parts of a broader transforma-
tion pursued simultaneously, occurred sequentially, or even integrated into different
ways.98
As observed, different sources, including nuclear power and fossil fuels, can be
included depending on the definition of the energy transition. Nevertheless, under-
standing the energy transition as low carbon and renewable or low carbon,
96
Ekardt and Wieding (2018), pp. 77–78.
97
98
Meadowcroft (2009), p. 327.
Table 1.1 Energy Sources Considered in Various Definitions of “Energy Transition”

Energy sources Definitions of energy transition
Renewable sources + nuclear (not based on “Movement from a fossil fuel-based
fossil fuels) (or dominated) energy system to a non-fossil
fuel based (or dominated) energy system”
Renewable sources + nuclear + CCS “Shift from a carbon-emitting energy system to
a carbon-neutral (or low carbon) energy
system”
Renewable sources “Transition from a non-renewable energy sys-
tem to a renewable energy system”
Hydropower + fossil fuels + and nuclear “Movement from an insecure (vulnerable)
(if renewable sources intermittency issue is energy system to a secure (robust) energy
considered an impediment) system”
Wind + solar (mainly) “Change from centralized energy provision to
a decentralized energy system”
renewable, clean, sustainable, and just means only renewable sources, such as
hydropower, solar, wind, and biomass.
Still, the deployment of RE does not aim only at diminishing carbon emissions
but also considers environmental impacts and the compatibilization between climate
and other environmental concerns as legal objectives materializing the transition, as
observed in climate and energy policies in Brazil and Germany. In this aspect, the
energy transition questions the business-as-usual approach as different concepts and
theories lack consideration for environmental impacts caused by RE (new conflicts).
1.4.1.2 Energy Transition in Brazil and Germany
Apart from general problems and considering the mentioned challenges, this section
focuses on the specific cases of Brazil and Germany. It begins with a resume of
German’s Energiewende99 to explain the background of current discussions on
energy transition, followed by a brief understanding of the concept in Brazil.
A common point in both countries is the direct connection between promoting
renewable energies and protecting the climate. Another aspect is the lack of consid-
eration for negative impacts caused by RE in the legal framework, which is limited to
stressing positive aspects of the transition, primarily related to energy security and
climate protection.
Despite the silence in the climate protection regulations on adverse environmental
impacts, other legal instruments in Brazil and Germany include prevention and
control of negative effects. In this context, the achievement of an energy transition
must also resolve new conflicts concerning the protection of the climate through
renewable energies and other environmental interests in the transition’s legal
framework.
99
Legal aspects of the Energiewende and the EEG are in Chap. 3.
1.4 The Energy Transition 15
German Energiewende
Ekardt understands the Energiewende as the biggest project of the current century,
but not limited to electricity. The transition encompasses many sectors and changes
in human behavior and consumption patterns.100 According to Bosselmann, the
German Energiewende has an ecological nature and is a general transition from
the fossil fuel age to renewables and sustainability. It combines phasing out nuclear
power, saving energy, and moving to renewable sources driven by domestic targets
and reforms “with genuine climate responsibility”.101 The author considers the
transition much more complex and profound than just emitting less GHG into the
atmosphere or reaching the best technology for renewable energies. It is “ultimately
the concept of a sustainable society based on ecological values and principles”.102
Morris and Jungjohann explain that the energy transition in Germany started in
the 1970s with protests against nuclear energy and for more democracy in energy
decisions.103 The year 1980 had essential developments, such as the publication of
the study entitled Energiewende and the foundation of the environmental party The
Greens (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen).104 In 1983, Die Grünen entered the German
Parliament, helping to mainstream the idea of “‘ecological modernization’
(Ökologische Modernisierung)” embracing all aspects of moving towards a sustain-
able society.105
Later on, the so-called Green-Red coalition governed Germany from 1998 to
2005 and negotiated a nuclear power phase-out to progressively shut down nuclear
power stations, with a complete shut-down estimated to occur by 2022. However, a
national debate about the role of nuclear power in Germany’s long-term energy
source resulted in the enlargement of the running times for nuclear power plants,
abolishing the previous agreement (phase-out of the phase-out).106
In 2011, the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan, led the German government to
examine the security of the nuclear power plants, which resulted in seven of the
oldest German nuclear power plants stopping producing electricity. The German
government also “made a remarkable and immediate turnaround in its position
towards nuclear energy: It decided to reverse the extension of running-times and
instead for phasing out of nuclear energy by 2022.”107 This decision led to the
development of energy packages that included many other changes to “pave the way
100
Ekardt (2015), p. 11.
101
Bosselmann (2014), pp. 11–12.
102
Bosselmann (2014), p. 12.
103
Morris and Jungjohann (2016), pp. 15 et seq.
104
The Greens or Die Grünen are a political party in Germany created based on environmental
protection. See more information on their official website. See Gruene (2021).
105
Bosselmann (2014), p. 12.
106
Petersen and Thomas (2011), p. 35.
107
for replacing nuclear energy and other fossil energy by renewable energy sources
and energy efficiency measures”.108
The increase in renewable energies in Germany’s energy supply was arguably
possible due to “appropriate framework conditions, created or developed over
several legislative periods”.109 Some measures include, in the electricity sector,
feed-in tariffs.110
Energy Transition in Brazil
In contrast to Germany, Brazil does not have a specific law or public policy
addressing energy transition directly, even though many regulations regarding
climate protection and the promotion of RE guide it. Again, the PNMC establishes
voluntary commitments to emission reduction and actions to achieve them, such as
expanding hydropower plants and other renewable sources, even though now
outdated and not integrated with the NDC.
As mentioned, the national energy policy includes climate protection objectives,
and the Brazilian NDC to the PA sets mitigation targets and the commitment to strive
for an energy system transition based on renewable sources and the decarbonization
of the global economy. In sum, climate change law in Brazil addresses the energy
transition and its climate and nature protection objectives.
As will be explained in the following chapters, the Brazilian energy matrix is
based on hydropower energy, which is an essential element to understand the
country’s energy transition. As a result, shifting to RE in Brazil means diversifying
from hydropower to other sources (such as wind and solar) and considering envi-
ronmental impacts.
1.4.2 Critics of the Current Energy Transition
Even though the transition to renewable energy sources is one of the leading
solutions to mitigate climate changes, the current approach remains business-as-
usual. Three reasons explain this argument. First, RE is planned to meet increasing
energy demand. Second, the installation of RE uses the same system of large-scale
infrastructures, designed by the State and owned by energy corporations. And third,
environmental impacts are overlooked or accepted because the transition prioritizes
reducing carbon emissions and assuring economic growth.
108
109
According to the National Renewable Energy Action Plan in accordance with Directive 2009/28/
EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources. See Federal Republic of
Germany (2020), p. 8.
110
Feed-in tariffs and the recent change in their system are explained in Chap. 3.
References 17
As mentioned, energy demand is estimated to increase in the upcoming years,

especially in developing countries, where electricity access remains an issue. For
instance, as mentioned, Brazil predicts growth in final energy consumption for
2021–2025 at an average rate of 3.6% per year.111 Furthermore, the planning and
construction of RE in Brazil remain in large-scale plants owned by energy corpora-
tions. In Germany, even though many community-owned projects foster the decen-
tralization of the energy system, large energy corporations still influence the energy
market, intensified by the recent amendment of the EEG in 2021.112
Concerning the overlook of environmental impacts, their depreciation is taken for
granted when considered the ultimate objective of reducing carbon emissions and
mitigating climate change. The effects caused by RE do not mean that fossil fuel
impacts or conflicts will disappear nor that renewable sources are completely free
from adverse effects. However, if the energy transition happens inside the business-
as-usual approach and does not mean a broader shift to sustainability, new conflicts
will be created—and already are. For those reasons, the energy transition questions
the compatibilization between climate protection through renewable energy sources
and other environmental concerns.
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Chapter 2
Purpose of the Work and Comparative
Approach
The energy transition means promoting renewable energy sources for climate pro-
tection while ensuring other environmental interests. However, renewable energy
projects can also cause significant environmental negative effects. Therefore, this
work discusses the question: Is the protection of the climate through renewable
energy sources legally compatible with other environmental interests, such as
biodiversity protection? To answer the question, this work investigates how Brazil-
ian and German legal frameworks solve the proposed problem in a comparative legal
analysis of project planning and licensing. Thus, this chapter provides necessary
introductory information to understand the purpose and methodology of the work,
guiding the reader on the scope of the research and essential definitions of the
following chapters.
2.1 Introductory Aspects
2.1.1 Research Question
The transition from a carbon to a non-carbon economy cannot neglect the adverse
environmental effects caused by energy generation. As human activities impact
nature, some interventions are deemed reasonable and justifiable encroachments,
while others are not accepted. In this context, environmental law aims to prevent or
minimize those adverse effects, manage and compensate for risks, and control the
use of natural resources.
Renewable energy sources are mainly promoted and installed to protect the
climate. However, they can cause several environmental impacts, which are usually
taken for granted in climate and energy policies, as explained in the previous chapter.
Wind energy, for instance, can cause significant impacts on biodiversity, such as
affecting the migration and nesting of birds and bats or killing them from the
collision with turbines. Noise and shadow from wind turbines can also negatively
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 23

P. Galbiatti Silveira, Climate Protection and Environmental Interests in Renewable
Energy Law, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11605-6_2
24 2 Purpose of the Work and Comparative Approach
affect communities living around them and the visual landscape, reasons why many
people oppose their installation. Large-scale hydropower plants, conventional
renewable sources, cause enormous impacts during construction and operation.
They can affect the whole ecosystem of the water basin and displace entire commu-
nities due to the inundation of the area. Besides, the dam’s reservoir can also emit
GHG (mainly methane) from underwater organic matter. Solar energy can impact
the environment when manufacturing photovoltaic cells with toxic materials. The
installation of large solar parks on land can compete with other land uses, such as
agriculture, natural protected areas, and impact biodiversity. Finally, biomass energy
is not free from critics, especially its competition with agriculture and related
impacts on crops, such as the use of pesticides and biodiversity impacts.
Because the adverse effects of climate change impact human and natural systems,
climate protection is expected to strengthen environmental protection. In other
words, when we think about the impacts of climate change, the encroachment on
human rights and nature comes to mind and allowing emissions to continue means
that the environment remains impaired for uncountable years. Thus, solutions to
mitigate emissions and protect the climate would consequentially enhance environ-
mental protection. Nevertheless, the expected protection increase is not a necessary
result of promoting renewable energy sources, as exemplified by impacts caused by
hydropower, wind, solar, and biomass installations.
Considering that (i) renewable energy sources protect the climate but impact other
environmental aspects, (ii) climate is part of the environment, and (iii) the protection
of the climate and other environmental interests are obligations established in
environmental law, it is clear that there is an internal conflict within the legal
framework for promoting renewable energy projects. In this context, the previous
statement that the protection of the climate necessarily means an increase in envi-
ronmental protection is a paradox: renewable energies as mitigation solutions to
climate change can cause significant negative environmental impacts.
Therefore, this work questions whether, in the energy transition, the protection of
the climate through renewable energy sources is compatible with the protection of
the environment, both interests in environmental law. In other words, is the protec-
tion of the climate through renewable energy sources legally compatible with the
protection of other environmental interests? The background of this question
remains the conflict “environment against the environment” in which different
environmental interests collide.
2.1.2 Answering the Research Question
This work answers the question about the possibility to compatibilize climate
protection through renewable energy sources with the protection of other environ-
mental interests in environmental law. It does so from a legal-environmental per-
spective, specifically in the electricity generation in the context of climate and
renewable energy law.
2.1 Introductory Aspects 25
In response to the research question, the hypothesis is positive, meaning that it is

possible to harmonize efforts to mitigate climate change through renewable energy
sources while protecting other environmental interests. This harmonization occurs
during concrete decision-making on environmental licensing and planning of renew-
able energy projects, aiming to prevent adverse impacts and weighing up different
but simultaneously necessary and justifiable environmental interests involved in
electricity generation from renewable sources. It means the conflicts are identified
in the development phase of the project, before the impacts occur, and with the exact
objective of preventing them.
In other words, the production of electricity while protecting the climate and other
environmental interests means the possibility of developing sustainable energy away
from fossil fuels and towards a zero-carbon economy. More to the point, environ-
mental law has mechanisms to reconcile different environmental protection objec-
tives and solve internal environmental conflicts. Those instruments and criteria are
used for weighing up interests during decision-making on environmental planning
and licensing of renewable energy projects.
In legal theory, an encroachment on fundamental rights can be justified if a higher
public interest is involved. In this sense, environmental law provides criteria for
decision-making when different legally protected environmental interests collide,
such as climate and biodiversity. Following this argument, positive climate protec-
tion objectives of renewable energies can justify the negative impacts caused by
renewable energy projects. However, other environmental interests, such as biodi-
versity protection, can overcome the positive climate effects and impede the instal-
lation of power plants from renewable sources.
To provide more concrete answers to decision-making, this work analyzes the
research problem in the legal frameworks of Brazil and Germany, referring to
international or European law when directly applied to the mentioned countries
and proposed scope. Lessons learned from them can enable the drawing up of
compatibilization general responses to the climate and renewable energy legal
problem.
2.1.3 Objectives
Considering the mentioned arguments, the main objective of this work is to verify
whether, in the energy transition, the generation of electricity from renewable energy
sources to protect the climate is compatible with the protection of the environment,
both interests and objectives in environmental law.
Specific objectives of this work are:
(a) Understanding the promotion of renewable energies in Brazil and Germany,
questioning whether promotional instruments changed because of side effects;
Another random document with
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we can only mention a few of the families, many of which, indeed,
differ from one another in small characters.
Fam. Lysianassidae.—The first joint of the first antenna is
short, with an accessory flagellum. Mandible with a palp, and with an
almost smooth cutting edge. The third joint of the second gnathopod
is elongated. This family is entirely marine, comprising forty-eight
genera, with species distributed in all seas. One genus,
Pseudalibrotus, inhabits the brackish water of the Caspian Sea.
Lysianassa has several common British and Mediterranean species.
Fam. Haustoriidae.—The members of this family are specially
adapted for burrowing, the joints of the hinder thoracic limbs being
expanded, and furnished with spines for digging. Some of the species
are common on the British coasts, e.g. Haustorius arenarius.
Pontoporeia has an interesting distribution, one species, P.
femorata, being entirely marine, in the Arctic and North Atlantic, P.
affinis inhabiting the Atlantic, and also fresh-water lakes in Europe
and North America, P. microphthalma being confined to the Caspian
Sea, and P. loyi to Lakes Superior and Michigan.
Fam. Gammaridae.—Includes fifty-two genera. The first
antennae are slender, with the accessory flagellum very variable. The
mandibles have a dentate cutting edge, spine-row, and molar
surface, and a three-jointed palp. The first two thoracic limbs are
subchelate. This family includes a few marine, but mostly brackish
and fresh-water species. Crangonyx is entirely subterranean in
habitat, as is Niphargus, N. forelii occurring, however, in the deep
waters of Lake Geneva. Both these genera are blind. Gammarus has
thirty species, G. locusta being the common species on the North
Atlantic coasts, and G. pulex the common fresh-water species of
streams and lakes in Europe. A number of Gammaridae inhabit the
Caspian Sea, e.g. Boeckia, Gmelina, Niphargoides, etc., while the
enormous Gammarid fauna of Lake Baikal, constituting numerous
genera, showing a great variety of structure, some of them being
blind, belong to this family, e.g. Macrohectopus (Constantia),
Acanthogammarus, Heterogammarus, etc.
Fig. 95.—Gammarus locusta, ♂ (above) and ♀ (below), × 4.
Abd.1, First abdominal segment; T, telson; Th, seventh free
thoracic segment (= 8th thoracic segment); U, third uropod.
(After Della Valle.)
Fam. Talitridae.—This family may be distinguished by the

absence of a palp on the mandible, and by one ramus of the uropods
being very small or wanting. The various kinds of “Sand-hoppers”
belong here, familiar creatures on every sandy coast between tide-
marks. The genera Talitrus and Talorchestia always frequent sand,
while Orchestia is generally found under stones and among weed.
Some species of Orchestia, e.g. O. gammarellus, live inland in moist
places at some distance from the sea; one species of Talitrus (T.
sylvaticus) occurs at great elevations in forests in Southern
Australia.
Hyale is a coastal genus, and is also found on floating objects in
the Sargasso Sea. Hyalella is confined to Lake Titicaca and the fresh
waters of South America. Chiltonia from S. Australasia.
Fam. Corophiidae.—The members of this family have a rather
flattened body and small abdomen, and the side-plates on the thorax
are small. The uropods are also small and weak. Some species of the
genus Corophium are characteristic of the Caspian Sea.
Sub-Order 2. Laemodipoda.
Fig. 96.—Caprella grandimana, × 4. a, Abdomen; g, gills; t, 3rd

(first free) thoracic segment; t′, 8th thoracic segment. (After P.
Mayer.)
Fam. 1. Caprellidae[113] are also chiefly littoral forms, swarming

among rocks covered by algae, though they are by no means so easy
to detect as the Gammaridae and Tanaidae which haunt similar
situations. In a basinful of algae or Polyzoa taken from the rocks
fringing the Bay of Naples, the latter are easily collected, the
Tanaidae always crawling out of the weeds in the direction of the
light, while the Gammarids dart about in all directions; but the
Caprellidae, with their branching stick-like forms, harmonise so well
with their surroundings that it requires an experienced eye to detect
them. The body is elongated and thin, resembling that of a stick-
insect. The first two thoracic segments are more or less completely
fused with the head; the second and third thoracic limbs end in
claws; the two following thoracic limbs are normal in the genus
Proto, rudimentary in Protella, and absent in the remaining genera,
though their gills remain as conspicuous flabellate structures. The
three hind legs are normal, and the abdomen is reduced to a tiny
wart at the hind end of the greatly elongated thorax.
P. Mayer has described cases of external hermaphroditism as
being fairly common in certain species, e.g. Caprella acutifrons, and
this is interesting if we take into consideration the frequent partial
hermaphroditism exhibited by the gonad of Orchestia at certain
times of year (see p. 104).
Fam. 2. Cyamidae.—These are closely related to the Caprellidae
in the form of the limbs and the reduced state of the abdomen.
Cyamus ceti, which lives ectoparasitically on the skin of whales, has
the body expanded laterally instead of being elongated, as in the
Caprellids.
Sub-Order 3. Hyperina.
These are an equally distinct

and curious group of Amphipods,
characterised by the large size of
the head and the transparency of
the body. Instead of haunting the
littoral zone they are pelagic in
habit, and many of them live
inside transparent pelagic
Molluscs, Tunicates, or Jellyfish.
A well known form is Phronima
sedentaria, which inhabits the
Fig. 97.—Phronima sedentaria, ♀, in a glassy barrel-like cases of the
Pyrosoma colony, × 1. (After Claus, Tunicate Pyrosoma in the
from Gerstaecker and Ortmann.) Mediterranean. The female is
often taken in the plankton
together with her brood in one of these curious glass houses; the
zooids of the Pyrosoma colony are completely eaten away and the
external surface of the case, instead of being rough with the tentacles
of the zooids, is worn to a smooth, glass-like surface. It has been
observed that the female actively navigates her house upon the
surface of the sea; she clings on with her thoracic legs inside, while
the abdomen is pushed out through an opening of the Pyrosoma
case behind, and by its alternate flexion and extension drives the
boat forwards, the water being thus made to enter at the front
aperture and supply the female and her brood with nourishment.
DIVISION 3. HOPLOCARIDA.
The carapace leaves at least four of the thoracic somites distinct.
The eyes are pedunculate. The mandibles are without a lacinia
mobilis; there are no oostegites, the eggs being carried in a chamber
formed by the maxillipedes. The hepatic caeca are much ramified,
the heart is greatly elongated, stretching through thorax and
abdomen, with a pair of ostia in each segment. The spermatozoa are
spherical, and there is a complicated and peculiar metamorphosis.
Order. Stomatopoda.
Fig. 98.—Lateral view of Squilla sp., × 1. A.1, A.2, 1st and 2nd
antennae; Ab.1, 1st abdominal segment; Ab.6, 6th abdominal
appendage; C, cephalothorax, consisting of the head fused with
the first five thoracic segments; E, eye; M, 2nd maxillipede; T,
telson. (After Gerstaecker and Ortmann.)
The Stomatopoda are rather large animals, occasionally reaching a

foot in length, all of which exhibit a very similar structure; Squilla
mantis and S. desmaresti are found on the south coast of England
not very frequently; but they are very common in the Mediterranean,
living in holes or in the sand within the littoral zone of shallow water.
They differ from all the other Malacostraca by a combination of
characters, and Calman proposes the term Hoplocarida for a
division equivalent to the Peracarida, Eucarida, etc.
The abdomen is very broad and well developed, ending in a widely
expanded telson. There is a carapace which covers the four anterior
thoracic segments, leaving the four posterior segments free. The
portion of the head carrying the stalked eyes constitutes an
apparently separate segment articulated to the head. The antennae,
mandibles, and maxillae are normal; there then follow five pairs of
uniramous thoracic limbs turned forwards as maxillipedes and
ending in claws; the second pair of these is modified into a huge
raptorial arm, exactly resembling that of a Praying Mantis (cf. vol. v.
p. 242), by means of which the Squilla seizes its prey. The last three
thoracic limbs are small and biramous. The pleopods are powerful,
flattened, biramous swimming organs with small hooks or
“retinaculae” upon their endopodites, which link together each
member of a pair in the middle, and with large branching gills upon
the exopodites.
The internal anatomy exhibits several primitive features. The
nervous system is not at all concentrated, there being a separate
ganglion for each segment; and the heart stretches right through
thorax and abdomen, with a pair of ostia in each segment. There are
also ten hepatic diverticula given off segmentally from the intestine.
The female has the curious habit of carrying the developing eggs in
a chamber improvised by the apposition of the maxillipedes, so that
it looks rather as if she were in the act of devouring her own brood.
The metamorphosis of the larvae, despite the work of Claus[114] and
Brooks,[115] is not very accurately known, especially uncertain being
the identification of the different larvae with their adult forms. The
chief interest consists in the fact that certain of the anterior thoracic
limbs develop in their normal order and degenerate, to be reformed
later, just as in the Phyllosoma larva of the Loricata (see pp. 165,
166).
In one series of larvae, probably not of Squilla itself, but of related
genera, the young hatch out as “Erichthoidina” (Fig. 99), with the
thoracic appendages developed as biramous organs as far as the fifth
pair, and with a single abdominal pair of limbs.
The abdominal series of limbs is next completed; the second
thoracic limb assumes its adult raptorial structure, but the
succeeding three limbs become greatly reduced and may entirely
degenerate, leaving the posterior six thoracic segments without
limbs.
Usually the anterior three pairs
are only reduced, and then
redevelop side by side with the
small posterior limbs as they
appear. This larva is then termed
the “Erichthus” (Fig. 100); but
when they completely disappear Fig. 99.—Erichthoidina larva of a
the larva is called a Stomatopod, with five pairs of
“Pseudozoaea,” owing to its maxillipedes, and the first pair of
abdominal appendages, × 10. (From
resemblance to the Zoaea stage of Balfour, after Claus.)
the Decapoda, which is also
characterised by the suppressed
development of the thoracic segments.
Fig. 100.—Older Erichthus larva, with six pairs of abdominal

appendages, × 15. (From Balfour, after Claus.)
The so-called “Alima” larva of Squilla is also a Pseudozoaea, but it

is apparently arrived at directly without the previous formation and
degeneration of the anterior thoracic limbs, the larva hatching out
from the egg in the Pseudozoaeal stage.
Fam. Squillidae.—Of the six known genera none extend into the
cold subarctic seas; the majority are characteristic of the warm or
tropical seas (Gonodactylus), some of the species having very wide
ranges, e.g. G. chiragra, which is completely circumtropical, and
appears to have entered the Mediterranean at some period, though it
is very rare there.
CHAPTER VI
CRUSTACEA (CONTINUED)—
EUMALACOSTRACA (CONTINUED):
EUCARIDA—EUPHAUSIACEA—COMPOUND
EYES—DECAPODA
DIVISION 4. EUCARIDA.
The carapace fuses with all the thoracic segments. The eyes are
pedunculate. The mandible is without a lacinia mobilis. There are no
oostegites, the eggs being attached to the endopodites of the
pleopods. The hepatic caeca are much ramified, the heart is
abbreviated and saccular, the spermatozoa are spherical with
radiating pseudopodia, and development is typically attended by a
complicated larval metamorphosis.
Order I. Euphausiacea.
The Euphausiidae[116] agree

with the Decapoda in passing
through a complicated larval
metamorphosis. The young hatch
out as Nauplii, with uniramous
first antennae and biramous
second antennae and mandibles.
In the next stage, or “Calyptopis”
Fig. 101.—Calyptopis larva of (Fig. 101), which corresponds
Euphausia pellucida, × about 20. A.1, exactly to the Zoaea of the
1st antenna; Ab.6, 6th abdominal Decapoda, two pairs of maxillae
segment; E, eye; M, maxillipede. (After
Sars.) and a pair of biramous
maxillipedes are added; the
hinder thoracic segments are
undifferentiated, but the abdomen is fully segmented, and the
rudiments of the sixth pair of pleopods are already visible.
In the next stage (“Furcilia”) the other abdominal pleopods are
added, the whole series being completed before the thoracic
appendages number more than two or three. This stage corresponds
to the Metazoaea of the Decapoda, and the interference in the orderly
differentiation of the segments with their appendages from before
backwards is a phenomenon which we shall meet again when we
treat of Decapod metamorphosis. It is evidently a secondary
modification, furnishing the larva precociously with its most
important swimming organs so as to enable it to lead a pelagic
existence. The frequent violation of the law of metameric
segmentation, that the most anterior segments being the first formed
should be the first to be fully differentiated, leads us to suppose that
the larval stages of the Eucarida at any rate do not represent
phylogenetic adult stages through which the Malacostraca have
passed. Nor do they, perhaps, even represent primitive larval stages,
but have been secondarily acquired from an embryonic condition
which used to be passed through within the egg-membranes, as in
Nebalia and the Mysidacea, when the order of differentiation of the
segments was normal. The case is a little different with the Nauplius
larva. This larval form, in an identical condition, is found both in the
Entomostraca as a general rule, and again in certain Malacostraca,
viz. the Euphausiidae and the Peneidea. Whatever its phylogenetic
meaning may be, we may be quite certain that the ancestor of the two
great divisions of the Crustacea had a free-swimming Nauplius larva,
and this conclusion is confirmed by the probable presence of a
Nauplius larva in Trilobites.
The Euphausiidae, in contradistinction to the Mysidae, are
frequently met with in the surface-plankton. Euphausia pellucida
(Fig. 102) is of universal distribution, and is frequently taken at the
surface as well as at considerable depths.
Many noteworthy features in Euphausiid organisation are brought
out in Fig. 102. The shrimp-like appearance of the carapace and
antennae indicate the special Decapodan affinities of the family;
noteworthy, also, are the single series of gills and the biramous
thoracic and abdominal limbs, similar to those of the Mysidacea. The
Euphausiidae also possess phosphorescent organs of a highly
developed kind, and these are usually situated, as in the type figured,
upon the outer margins of the stalked eyes, on the bases of the
second and seventh thoracic limbs, and on the ventral median line
on the first four abdominal segments. These organs are lantern-like
structures provided with a lens, a reflector, and a light-producing
tissue, and they are under the control of the nervous system. Their
exact use is not known, any more than is the use of phosphorescence
in the majority of organisms which produce it; but in certain cases it
appears that the Euphausiids make use of their phosphorescent
organs as bull’s eye lanterns for illuminating the dark regions into
which they penetrate or in which some of them permanently dwell.
At any rate, associated with the presence of these organs in some
deep-sea Euphausiids are remarkable modifications of the eyes; and
we may perhaps here fittingly introduce a short discussion of these
visual modifications in deep-sea Crustacea, and the conditions which
call them forth.
Fig. 102.—Euphausia pellucida, female, × 5. G, Last gill; L,

luminous organ of first leg; L′, luminous organ of 2nd abdominal
segment; T, biramous thoracic appendages. (After Sars.)
The compound eyes of Crustacea resemble those of Insects in

that they are composed of a very large number of similar elements or
“ommatidia,” more or less isolated from one another by pigment.
Each ommatidium consists typically of a corneal lens (Fig. 103, c),
secreted by flat corneagen cells (c.g) below; beneath the corneal lens
is a transparent refractive body called the “crystalline cone” (cr),
which is produced by a number of cells surrounding it called the
“vitrellae” (v). Below the crystalline cone comes the “rhabdom” (rh),
produced and nourished by “retinulacells” (r). The rhabdom is a
transversely striated rod,
constituting the true sensory part
of each ommatidium, and is in
connexion at its lower end with a
nerve-fibre (n), passing to the
optic ganglion. The rhabdoms
rest upon a membrane (f) called
the “membrana fenestrata.” Each
ommatidium is isolated from its
fellows which surround it by a
complete cylinder of pigment,
part of which is especially Fig. 103.—A, Sections (diagrammatic)
crowded round the crystalline of Crustacean compound eye, A, with
pigment in light-position for mosaic
cone, and is known as “irido- vision; B, with pigment in dark-
pigment” (ip), while the part position for refractive vision. c, Corneal
which surrounds the rhabdom is lens; c.g, corneagen cells; cr, crystalline
called “retino-pigment” (rp). cone; f, basal membrane, or membrana
fenestrata; ip, irido-pigment; n, nerve;
When the pigment is arranged r, retinula; rh, rhabdom; rp, retino-
in this way, as in Fig. A, only pigment; v, vitrella.
those rays of light which strike an
ommatidium approximately at
right angles to the corneal surface can be perceived, since only these
can reach the top of the rhabdom; the others pass through the
crystalline cones obliquely, and are absorbed by the cylinder of
pigment surrounding each ommatidium, so that they neither reach
the rhabdom of the ommatidium which they originally entered, nor
can they penetrate to the rhabdom of neighbouring ommatidia. This
gives rise to what is known as “mosaic vision,” that is to say, each
ommatidium only perceives the rays of light which are parallel to its
long axis, and in this way an image is built up of which the various
points are perceived side by side by means of separate eye-elements.
The distinctness and efficiency of this mode of vision depends chiefly
upon the number of ommatidia present, and the completeness with
which they are isolated from one another by the pigment. Now this
form of vision, depending as it does upon the absorption of a great
number of the light-rays by pigment, and the transmission of only a
limited number to the sensory surface, is only possible when there is
a strong light, and there is no need for economising the light-rays.
The most important discovery was made by Exner,[117] that the
majority of animals with compound eyes had the power of so
arranging the pigment in their eyes as to enable them to see in two
ways. In bright light the pigment is situated as in Fig. 103, A, so as
completely to isolate the rhabdoms from one another (day-position);
but in the dusk the pigment actively migrates, the irido-pigment
passing to the surface (B) near the tops of the crystalline cones, and
the retino-pigment passing interiorly to rest on the membrana
fenestrata at the bases of the rhabdoms (night-position). When this
happens the rays of light which strike the ommatidia at all sorts of
angles, instead of being largely absorbed by the pigment, are
refracted by the crystalline cones and distributed over the tops of the
rhabdoms, passing freely from one ommatidium to another. In this
way the eye acts on this occasion, not by mosaic vision, but on the
principle of refraction, as in the Vertebrate eye. Of course the
distinctness of vision is lost, but an immense economy in the use of
light-rays is effected, and the creature can perceive objects and
movements dimly in the dusk which by mosaic vision it could not see
at all. The pigment is contained in living cells or chromatophores,
and it is carried about by the active amoeboid movements of these
cells with great rapidity.
Now, besides the active adaptability to different degrees of light
brought about in the individual by these means, we find Crustacea
living under special conditions in which the eyes are permanently
modified for seeing in the dusk, and this naturally occurs in many
deep-sea forms.
Doflein[118] has examined the eyes of a great number of deep-sea
Brachyura dredged by the Valdivia Expedition, and as the result of
this investigation he states that the eyes of deep-sea Brachyura are
never composed of so many ommatidia, nor are they so deeply
pigmented as those of littoral or shallow water forms. At the same
time an immense range of variation occurs among deep-sea forms
which are apparently subjected to similar conditions of darkness, a
variation stretching from almost normal eyes to their complete
degeneration and the fusion of the eye-stalks with the carapace; and
this variation is very difficult to account for. A very frequent
condition for crabs living at about 100 fathoms, and even more, is for
either the irido-pigment or the retino-pigment to be absent, for the
number of ommatidia to be reduced, and for the corneal lenses to be
greatly arched. There can be little doubt that these crabs use their
eyes, not for mosaic vision, but to obtain the superposition-image
characteristic of the Vertebrate eye. In deeper waters, where no
daylight penetrates at all, this type of eye is also met with, and also
further stages in degeneration where all pigment is absent, and the
ommatidia show further signs of reduction and degeneration, e.g.
Cyclodorippe dromioides. In a few forms, e.g. Cymonomus
granulatus among Brachyura, and numerous Macrura, the
ommatidia may entirely disappear, and the eye-stalks may become
fused with the carapace or converted into tactile organs.
Progressive stages in degeneration, correlated with the depth in
which the animals are found, are afforded by closely related species,
or even by individuals of apparently the same species. Thus in the
large Serolidae of Antarctic seas, Serolis schytei occurs in 7–128
metres, and has well-developed eyes; S. bronleyana, from 730 to
3600 metres, has small and semi-degenerate eyes; while S.
antarctica in 730–2920 metres is completely blind. Lispognathus
thompsoni is a deep-water spider-crab, and the individuals taken at
various depths are said to exhibit progressive stages in degeneration
according to the depth from which they come.
At the same time many anomalies occur which are difficult to
explain. In the middle depths, i.e. at about 100 fathoms, side by side
with species which have semi-degenerate or, at any rate, poorly
pigmented eyes, occur species with intensely pigmented eyes
composed of very numerous ommatidia, e.g. the Galatheid
Munidopsis and several shrimps, while in the true abysses many of
the species have quite normal pigmented eyes. This is especially the
case with the deep-sea Pagurids, of which Alcock describes only one
species, Parapylocheles scorpio, as having poorly pigmented eyes.
An attempt to account for this was made by Milne Edwards and
Bouvier,[119] who pointed out that the truly deep-sea forms with well-
developed eyes were always Crustacea of a roving habit, which were
perhaps capable of penetrating into better lit regions, and to whom
well-developed eyes might be useful, while the degenerate forms
were sluggish. This explanation cannot be held to account for the
phenomenon, as too many deep-sea forms with fairly normal eyes
are known which are never taken outside deep waters. Doflein (loc.
cit.) points out that in the Brachyura of the deep sea there is a
remarkable correlation between the degree of degeneration of the eye
and the size of the eggs—the large-egged forms having unpigmented
and degenerate eyes, while the species with small eggs have
pigmented eyes. He supposes that the species with large eggs
undergo a direct development without pelagic free-swimming larvae,
and that since they never reach the surface their eyes never meet
with the necessary stimulus of light for the development of pigment;
whereas the small-egged species undergo a pelagic larval existence
when this stimulus is present and gives the necessary initiative for
the development of the pigment.
Another factor enters into the question of eye-degeneration in the
Crustacea. The great majority of deep-sea animals, including many
deep-sea Crustacea, are phosphorescent, and it is certain that
although daylight never penetrates into the abysses of the ocean, yet
there is considerable illumination derived from the phosphorescence
of the inhabitants of these regions.
Alcock[120] points out in this connexion that the Pagurids, which
are conspicuous in the great depths as animals with normally
developed eyes, carry about anemones with them, and these
organisms are very frequently phosphorescent to a high degree. It
may well be, therefore, that the Pagurids are enabled to use their
eyes in the normal manner owing to the phosphorescent light which
they carry about with them, and this use of phosphorescent light may
apply to a number of deep-sea Crustacea whose eyes are not at all or
only partially degenerate.
An extremely interesting case of the use of phosphorescent light is
given by Chun.[121] In a number of Euphausiids occurring in deep
waters each compound eye is divided into two parts—a frontal and
ventro-lateral—which differ from one another very greatly in the
nature and disposition of their ommatidia.
In the frontal portion (Fig. 104, A) the ommatidia are few in
number and long, the corneal lenses are highly arched, and the
pigment is reduced to a few clumps in the iris. This part of the eye is
evidently adapted for forming a vague superposition-image in the
dusk. The ventro-lateral part (B), on the other hand, is composed of
numerous small ommatidia, the crystalline cones of which can be
completely isolated from one another by the irido-pigment.
Immediately below this part of the eye is a phosphorescent organ (C)
provided with a lens and tapetum.
Chun suggests that the ventro-
lateral part of the eye is used for
obtaining a clear mosaic image of
objects illuminated by the
phosphorescent organ, while the
frontal part of the eye is used for
obtaining general visual
impressions in dimly lit regions.
This curious differentiation of the
eye into two parts apparently only
occurs in predaceous animals,
which capture their prey alive
upon the bottom, and to whom a
Fig. 104.—Section of eye of clear vision of moving organisms
Stylocheiron mastigophorum. A, is a necessity.
Frontal portion; B, ventro-lateral
portion; C, phosphorescent organ; D,
Another instance of
entrance of optic nerve; c, corneal lens; Crustaceans making use of their
[122]
cr, crystalline cone; pg, pigment; ret, own light is given by Alcock,
retinula; rh, rhabdom. (After Chun.) who found two deep-sea prawns,
Heterocarpus alphonsi and
Aristaeus coruscans, at about
500 fathoms in the Indian Ocean. These animals produce a highly
phosphorescent substance which they eject from the antennary
glands, and they possess very large, deeply-pigmented eyes.
The whole subject of the modification of the pigment and structure
of Crustacean eyes is an interesting one, because it presents us with
one of those cases in which the direct response to a stimulus acting
within the lifetime of the individual seems to run parallel to the fixed
adaptations of a whole species, which have become hereditary and
apparently independent of the external stimulus of light or of the
absence of light. As far as is known, however, the direct response of
the individual to the absence of light is limited to the reduction or
disappearance of the pigment, and does not extend to those
structural changes in the ommatidia which are characteristic of so
many deep-sea forms.
Order II. Decapoda.[123]

The Decapoda, together with the Euphausiidae, make up the
Division Eucarida, the members of which differ from the Orders
hitherto described in a number of characters, e.g. the presence of a
carapace covering the whole of the thorax, the absence of a brood-
pouch formed of oostegites, the presence of a short heart, of
spermatozoa with radiating pseudopodia, and of a complicated larval
metamorphosis, of which the Zoaea stages are most prominent.
The Decapoda differ from the Euphausiidae chiefly in the anterior
three thoracic limbs being turned forwards towards the mouth to act
as maxillipedes, and in the five succeeding thoracic limbs being
nearly always uniramous and ambulatory or chelate; there are
typically present three serial rows of gills attached to the thoracic
segments, an upper series (“pleurobranchiae”) attached to the body-
wall above the articulation of the limbs, a middle series
(“arthrobranchiae”) attached at the articulation of the limbs, and a
lower series (“podobranchiae”) attached to the basal joints of the
limbs. These gills are enclosed in a special branchial chamber on
each side of the thorax, formed by lateral wings of the carapace
known as “branchiostegites.” The gills of each series are never all
present in the same animal, the anterior and posterior members
showing a special tendency to be reduced and to disappear. In this
manner “branchial formulae” can be constructed for the various
kinds of Decapods, which differ from the ideal formula in a manner
distinctive of each kind. The second maxilla is always provided with
an oar-like appendage on its outer margin (exopodite), known as the
“scaphognathite,” which, by its rhythmical movement, keeps up a
constant current of water through the gill-chamber.
A complicated auditory organ is present on the basal joint of the
first antennae; this is a sac communicating with the exterior and
lined internally with sensory hairs. The animal is said to place small
pieces of sand, etc., in its ears to act as otoliths. Anaspides (see p.
116) is the only other Crustacean which has an auditory organ in this
position.
The larval histories of the Decapods[124] are of great interest, and
will be given under the headings of the various groups. The first
discoverer of the metamorphosis of the Decapoda was the Irish
naturalist J. V. Thompson, certainly one of the ablest of British
zoologists. In 1828, in his Zoological Researches, he describes
certain Zoaeas of the Brachyura and proves that these animals are
not an adult genus, as supposed, but larval forms. But Rathke, in
1829, described the direct development of the Crayfish; and
Westwood, after describing the direct development of Gecarcinus,
utterly denied Thompson’s assertions concerning metamorphosis.
Thompson replied in the Royal Society Transactions for 1835, and
described the Megalopa stage of Cancer pagurus. Rathke,[125]
although previously an opponent of Thompson, subsequently made
confirmatory observations upon the larvae of the Anomura; and
Spence Bate clinched the matter by describing Brachyuran
metamorphosis with great accuracy in the Philosophical
Transactions for 1859. Since then a mass of work has been done on
the subject, though much detail still remains to be elucidated.
The Decapoda fall into three sub-orders, which graduate into one
another—(i.) the Macrura, including the Lobsters, Crayfishes,
Shrimps, and Prawns; (ii.) the Anomura, including the Hermit-
lobsters and Hermit-crabs; and (iii.) the Brachyura or true Crabs.
Sub-Order 1. Macrura.
This sub-order[126] is characterised by the large abdomen,

furnished with five pairs of biramous pleopods, and ending in a
powerful tail-fan composed of the telson and the greatly expanded
sixth pair of pleopods, the whole apparatus being locomotory. The
second antennae are furnished with very large external scales,
representing the exopodites of those appendages. Some of the
Shrimps and Prawns closely resemble the “Schizopods,” but the
pereiopods are nearly always uniramous.[127] Several subdivisions of
the Macrura are recognised.
Tribe 1. Nephropsidea.
This tribe includes the Lobsters and Crayfishes, animals well

known from their serviceableness to man. There are three families,
which will be treated separately.
Fam. 1. Nephropsidae. The podobranchs are not united with
the epipodites, and the last thoracic segment is fixed and fused to the
carapace. The chelae are generally asymmetrical. The most
important Lobsters are the European and the American species—
Homarus vulgaris (= Astacus gammarus) and H. americanus
respectively; these animals engage a large number of people in the
fisheries. It is estimated that in America about £150,000 are spent
every year on Lobsters.
The genus Nephrops contains the small Norwegian lobster and
other forms.
Herrick[128] gives some interesting particulars with regard to the
life-history of the American species. The largest recorded specimen
weighed about twenty-five pounds, and measured twenty inches
from rostrum to tail; similar European specimens have been
recorded, but, on the average, they are not so large as the American
forms.
The Lobster, like all Crustacea, undergoes a series of moults as the
result of increase in size, shedding the whole of the external
integument in one piece. This is accomplished by a split taking place
on the dorsal surface at the junction of thorax and abdomen; through
the slit so formed the Lobster retracts first his thorax with all the
limbs, and then his abdomen. When first issuing from the old shell
the animal’s integument is soft and pulpy, but the increase in size of
the body is already manifest; this increase per moult, which is
approximately the same in young and adult animals, varies from 13
to 15 per cent of the animal’s length. According to this computation,
a Lobster 2 inches long has moulted fourteen times, 5 inches twenty
times, and 10 inches twenty-five times, and it may be roughly
estimated that a 10–inch Lobster is four years old. Young Lobsters
probably moult twice a year, and so do adult males, but females only
moult once a year soon after the young are hatched out.
The process of moulting or ecdysis is an exceedingly dangerous
one to the Lobster and to Crustacea in general, and is very frequently
fatal. There is, first of all, the danger of the act not being
accomplished skilfully, when death always ensues. The Lobster
remains soft and unprotected for about six weeks after the ecdysis,
and is very apt to fall a prey to the predaceous fish, such as Sharks,
Skates, Cod, etc., which feed upon it. There are, however, some
peculiar adaptations connected with the process which are of
interest. In order to facilitate the ecdysis, areas of absorption are
formed upon the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the carapace, on the
narrower parts of the chelipedes, and at other places; in these areas
the calcium carbonate is absorbed, and the old shell becomes elastic
and thin, so as to allow a more easy escape for the moulting Lobster.
It has been noticed that while this is taking place large concretions of
calcium carbonate are formed at the sides of the stomach, known as
“gastroliths,” which perhaps represent the waste lime that has been
abstracted from the areas of absorption. After moulting the Lobster
is in great need of lime for stiffening his shell, and it has been noticed
that on these occasions he is very greedy of this substance, even
devouring his own cast-off skin.
The male Lobster is especially prized on account of his larger
chelae, but in both sexes the chelipedes are differentiated into a
smaller cutting pincer and a larger crushing one. Lobsters may be
right or left handed, with the large crushing claw on the right or left
hand, and sometimes specimens occur with the smaller cutting
pincers on both chelipedes, and very rarely, indeed, with crushing
claws on both sides. Crustacea very commonly have the power of
casting off a limb if they are seized by it or if it is injured, and of
regenerating a new one. In the Lobster a so-called breaking joint is
situated on each leg at the suture between the fused second and third
segments; a membrane being pushed inwards from the skin, which
not only serves to form a weak joint where rupture may easily take
place, but also to stop excessive bleeding after rupture. In the newly-
hatched larvae there is a normal joint between the second and third
segments; and autotomy, or the voluntary throwing away of a limb,
never occurs until the fourth larval stage, when the breaking joint is
formed. Autotomy is a reflex act under the control of the segmental
ganglion; if a Crab or Lobster be anæsthetised, and then a limb be
injured or broken off below the breaking joint, the animal forgets to
throw the injured leg or stump off at the breaking joint, a proceeding
which always occurs under normal conditions. The regeneration of a
limb starts from a papilla which grows out of the breaking joint, and
after a number of moults acquires the specific form of the limb that
has been lost. A number of interesting observations have been made
upon the regeneration of the limbs in Crustacea. It was in the
Hermit-crab that Morgan[129] proved that regeneration and the
liability to injury do not always run parallel, as Weismann held they
should, since the rudimentary posterior thoracic limbs, which are
never injured in nature, can regenerate when artificially removed as
easily as any others. Przibram[130] has shown that in the shrimp
Alpheus, whose chelipedes are highly asymmetrical, if the large one
be cut off, the small one immediately begins to grow and to take on
the form of the large one, while the regenerated limb is formed as the
small variety. This remarkable inversion in the symmetry of the
animal clearly ensures that, if the large chela is injured and thrown
away, the least amount of time is wasted in providing the shrimp
with a new large claw.
To return to the Lobster; for the majority of the individuals there is
a definite breeding season, viz. July and August, but a certain
proportion breed earlier or later. A female begins to “berry” at about
eight inches in length, and to produce more and more eggs up to
about eighteen inches, when as many as 160,000 eggs are produced
at a time; after this there is a decline in numbers. A female normally
breeds only once in two years. Strict laws are enforced forbidding the
sale of Lobsters and Crabs “in berry” in both England and America.
The period of incubation, during which the developing eggs are
attached to the swimmerets of the female, lasts about ten or eleven
months, so that the larvae are hatched out approximately in the
following June. On hatching, the larva, which measures about one-
third of an inch, and is in the Mysis stage (i.e. it possesses all the
thoracic limbs in a biramous condition, but is without the abdominal
limbs), swims at first on the surface. After five or six months of this
life, during which the abdominal pleopods are added from before
backwards, it sinks to the bottom, loses the exopodites of the thoracic
limbs, and is converted into the young Lobster, measuring about half
an inch in length. The little Lobster starts in deepish water, and
gradually crawls towards the shore; here it passes its adolescence,
but on coming to maturity it migrates out again into the deep water.
Fam. 2. Astacidae.—In this family, which includes all the
European and North American Crayfishes, Astacus (Potamobius)
and Cambarus, the podobranchs are united with the epipodites, the
last thoracic segment is free, there is only one pleurobranch or none
at all, the gills have a central lamina, but the filaments are without
terminal hooks, and the endopodites of the first two pairs of

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Climate Protection and Environmental Interests in Renewable Energy Law: Perspectives From Brazil and Germany Paula Galbiatti Silveira

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Climate Protection and Environmental

Interests in Renewable Energy Law:

Climate Change and Ocean Renewable Energy (Proceedings

Artificial Intelligence for Renewable Energy and

Brazil-India Renewable Energy Cooperation: Connecting

Environmental Protection Law and Policy 8th Edition

Energy and Power: Germany in the Age of Oil, Atoms, and

Proceedings of 2022 4th International Conference on

Extraterritoriality and Climate Change Jurisdiction :

Renewable Hydrogen Renewable Energy and Renewable

This work was supported by DAAD

ISBN 978-3-031-11604-9 ISBN 978-3-031-11605-6 (eBook)

and that the requirement of testing alternatives is restricted to geographical and

Universidade Metodista de Piracicaba Paulo Affonso Leme Machado

1 Contextual and Legal Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2.3 On the Comparative Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

4.2 Assessment of Side Effects in Concrete Renewable Energy

5.3.4 Criteria for the Solution of Conﬂicts in Land-Use

6.4.4 Applications of the Licensing Regime to Renewable

Table of Legislation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

AAI Avaliação Ambiental Integrada

CSP Concentrated solar power

LAU Licença ambiental uniﬁcada

RAS Relatório Ambiental Simpliﬁcado

Fig. 4.1 Conﬂicts Between Climate Protection and other Environmental

Table 1.1 Energy Sources Considered in Various Deﬁnitions of “Energy

1.1 Energy and Climate Changes

1.1.1 Climate Changes: Scientiﬁc Background

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 1

1.1.2 Climate Protection and the Energy Sector

Commitments to reduce emissions pose a global challenge to decarbonize the

emissions. The SRREN analyzes different RE strategies in medium- and long-term

1.2 Legal Framework

1.2.1 Climate Protection Through Renewable Energy

1.2.2 Climate Protection Through Renewable Energy

1.2.2.1 Legal Commitments for Climate Protection Through Renewable

To be consistent with the proposed goal, Brazil intends to achieve 45% of

1.2.2.2 Legal Commitments for Climate Protection Through Renewable

industries and construction, 12% residential, 4% commercial/institutional, 4% petro-

1.3 Theoretical Framework

1.3.1 Carbon to Low-Carbon Economy: Old Conﬂicts

agriculture.74 Economic growth is a central global concern75 and is arguably corre-

Contrary to the well-known concept of fossil fuel-based economies and societies,

1.3.2 Energy Efﬁciency and Sufﬁciency: Energy for What

fossil fuels phase-out must be addressed structurally to resolve other environmental

1.4 The Energy Transition

1.4.1 Concept and Challenges of the Current Energy

1.4.1.1 General Deﬁnitions of Energy Transition

Table 1.1 Energy Sources Considered in Various Deﬁnitions of “Energy Transition”

1.4.1.2 Energy Transition in Brazil and Germany

Energy Transition in Brazil

1.4.2 Critics of the Current Energy Transition

As mentioned, energy demand is estimated to increase in the upcoming years,

Destatis (2022) Energie: Energieerzeugung. https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Branchen-

Federative Republic of Brazil (2016) Brazil First NDC (Archived). https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/

International Energy Agency (IEA) (2021) Energy efﬁciency 2021. https://iea.blob.core.windows.

2.1 Introductory Aspects

2.1.1 Research Question

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022 23

2.1.2 Answering the Research Question

In response to the research question, the hypothesis is positive, meaning that it is

Fam. Talitridae.—This family may be distinguished by the

Fig. 96.—Caprella grandimana, × 4. a, Abdomen; g, gills; t, 3rd