O Papel dos Programas Ambientais Voluntários nas Políticas de Redução dos Gases do Efeito Estufa nos Países em Desenvolvimento: Perspectivas do Brasil, India, e Vietnã

Voluntary environmental programs have been widely used as greenhouse gas reduction instruments in developed countries. However, their role in developing countries is understudied. Previous research has called for comparative case studies to build knowledge on this topic. Four case studies from Brazil, Vietnam, and India are analyzed by interviews and a document review. The main findings suggest that the programs’ quality criteria and the industry drivers for involvement are often varied. Although the study did not quantitatively assessed the programs’ effectiveness to reduce the participants’ greenhouse emissions, qualitative proxies have been used as an option for assessing the credibility of voluntary environmental programs as tools for reducing GHG emissions. The results suggest that industrial voluntary environmental programs in developing countries can be credible complementary policy instruments. Further, voluntary programs can increase their credibility and public acceptance under these conditions: are embedded in an institutional context which enhances their credibility, are matched with the appropriate command-and-control or market instruments, that the industry follows its own incentives to participate, and the program is designed with certain quality criteria.