ABSTRACT Early assessment of environmental issues is key for sound decision-making about licensing of offshore oil and gas exploration sites. In this paper, we recall the historical background of such early assessments in Brazil showing that a simple consultation process in place for the last 15 years was able to steer oil and gas exploration away from sensitive areas. A more structured SEA-type instrument was designed in 2012, but its actual contribution to the effectiveness of early assessments remains to be seen as the first assessment reports are still to be delivered. Recent changes in the institutional and political context in Brazil have enabled the new government to ignore both the established consultation process and the ongoing SEA-type process. This shift of orientation led to the inclusion of environmentally sensitive areas in bidding rounds in 2019. Following this government decision, various initiatives to preserve the recommendations from the previous consultation process have illustrated the relevance of environmental/impact assessment not only to ease decision-making processes but also as a tool to safeguard environmental protection.

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在SEA迷路了？巴西的环境评估和海上油气规划

摘要环境问题的早期评估是合理决策离岸油气勘探场所许可的关键。在本文中，我们回顾了巴西进行此类早期评估的历史背景，表明过去15年进行的简单磋商过程能够使石油和天然气勘探远离敏感地区。2012年设计了一种结构更强的SEA型工具，但它仍对早期评估的有效性做出了实际贡献，因为仍要提交第一份评估报告。巴西机构和政治环境的最新变化使新政府能够忽略既定的磋商程序和正在进行的SEA类型程序。