Produção de energia elétrica e licenciamento ambiental: cidadania no Brasil em tempo de crise ecológica

Abstract

The choices of energy sources gain relevance in the face of the ecological crisis which has a central questioning on the modes of production and consumption and that stems from a system which changes everything into merchandise. On one hand, brazilian electricity generation has the advantage of using clean energy in great part of its composition, at least in discourse. On the other hand, though, there are high social and environmental costs, especially for communities living near the regions where projects for the electricity sector are built. This research aimed to identify and analyse different modes society takes part in the process of choosing energy sources for electricity generation in Brazil. It discusses the links between the ecological crisis and the production of electrical energy; how the institutional mechanisms for social participation on issues related to the production of electric power in Brazil work; and, how civil society participates in environmental licensing in the National Environment Council (CONAMA). A set of related approaches to the nature of the ecological crisis and the forms of social participation was adopted in the theoretical framework and an analysis of the electric sector panorama in Brazil has been drawn up. In order to investigate the forms society participates in issues related to the composition of the brazilian electricity matrix, the methodology comprised a documentary analysis and a case study. They included three categories of actors: (i) CONAMA's councilors, (ii) experts from the Field; and (iii) actors involved in the diagnosis study, planning and management of the electricity sector. The research identified inconsistencies, ambiguities and other relevant issues about the participation of society in the production of electrical energy. Such issues are related to: deficiencies in the mechanisms for information access; lack of transparency and patterns in internal documents; lack of social participation in the elaboration of international commitments; absence of participation of the society in institutionalized spaces; absence of representation of the society and specialists in the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE); invisibility of the discussion on possible impacts and social conflicts; lack of diversity's representation; deficiency in minority participation; lack of citizenship education initiatives focused on energy issue; absence of debates on energy production versus consumption; problems arising from developmental choice of Government decisions (even if implied). At the end, the present research offer suggestions for the improvement of this process, from the perspective of three key issues identified in this thesis: ecological crisis; electric power production; and social participation. The study concludes by pointing to the need of changes in the modes society’ participate in the process of choosing energy sources for the electrical energy production at the federal level in Brazil. In addition, it proposes a reflection on the model of generation and consumption of electricity and a systematic evaluation of human consumption on natural resources.