EN 
PT_BR 
The electoral race for the seat in Planalto Palace It has already started and candidates for the Presidency of the Republic in the 2022 elections are already looking for votes with their respective campaigns across the country.
Among the candidates are names such as former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) and current president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), as well as figures known to the general public, such as Ciro Gomes (PDT).
To let you know what candidates for the most coveted position in the world think, Brazilian politics, Canal Solar collected and prepared a special report with the presidential candidates' proposals for the renewable energy sector, especially solar energy.
The names were listed in alphabetical order and the proposals were taken from the respective government plans of each of the candidates. The first round of elections will be on October 2nd and the second, if it occurs, will be on October 30th.
Check below the proposals of each of the candidates in relation to the national photovoltaic sector.
Ciro Gomes (PDT)
Ciro has a long political career, especially as a manager, having been mayor of Fortaleza (CE), governor of Ceará, Minister of Finance in the Itamar Franco government and Minister of National Integration from 2003 to 2006. Furthermore, he has held the positions state and federal deputy. In 2022, it will be the fourth time that he will run for the position of President of the Republic.
- Age: 62 years old;
- Vice-president: Ana Paula Matos.
In his government plan, Ciro promises to develop “various forms of clean energy” in the country, such as solar, wind (on-shore and off-shore) and based on the production of green hydrogen.
For the candidate, it is important that the country develops “good, cheap and progressively clean” energy, in order to use hydroelectric plants as a “reserve source for peaks in energy consumption”, points out his government plan.
Ciro Gomes also promises to eliminate the use of thermal energy in the country, in order to make Brazil a country powered by 100% from renewable sources.
“We have the natural resources necessary to transition and convert to clean energy at a low cost and we will also seek, by 2030, to eliminate the use of thermoelectric energy, which contributes to the emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere. The goal is to achieve a clean 100% energy matrix.”
Felipe D'Avila (New)
D'Avila is a political scientist and writer, who in his career served as a political commentator and executive director of Fundação Estudar. The candidate defends a liberal agenda and this is the first time he has run for the position of President of the Republic.
- Age: 58 years old;
- Vice-president: Tiago Mitraud.
The candidate promises to accelerate the energy transition by promoting renewable sources in the country, with an emphasis on agriculture. The objective is to provide the sector with more access to sources such as solar, wind and ethanol, in order to reduce or even eliminate the emission of gases from this activity into the atmosphere.
“Ethanol production represents an important advance in this direction. However, Brazilian sugarcane fields are still highly dependent on oil, used as a base for synthetic fertilizers and to transport the harvest. This needs to be reversed with the progressive appreciation of different modalities and new organic fertilization technologies”, he pointed out.
Jair Bolsonaro (PL)
Jair Bolsonaro, the candidate who currently holds the position of President of the Republic, is a retired military man and entered politics in 1988, when he was elected councilor. He later held the position of federal deputy for Rio de Janeiro until 2018.
- Age: 67 years old;
- Vice-president: Walter Souza Braga Netto.
The current president promises, in his government plan, to reinforce commitments to the promotion and development of clean energy in the country, such as solar and wind.
If re-elected, Bolsonaro promises to use resources from Finep (National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development, the Studies and Projects Financing Company) to involve calls to bring together technological centers, entrepreneurs and startups, aiming at the production of sustainable energy.
Bolsonaro also promises to create conditions to attract international investments that help with economic development and job creation in the solar energy sector and other sources considered clean.
“This is a potential of between 45 and 75 GW of wind, solar and distributed generation in 10 years, providing investments of up to R$ 600 billion. These and other initiatives must be strengthened in the next term”, highlights the candidate’s government plan.
The current president also promises to value the production of green hydrogen in the country, which, according to him, has great potential to be an energy exporter.
“This set of measures, added to others of a structural nature regarding fossil fuels, will allow Brazil to reduce the price of energy, which is important for our daily lives and for national and international transport logistics, including cooking gas, which is essential for the entire population, in addition to reducing the costs of industrial production and products for the final consumer”.
Leonardo Péricles (UP)
Leonardo Péricles is the president and was one of the founders of the Popular Unit, a party for which he is running in 2022. An electronics technician and machine maintenance mechanic, he was one of the leaders of the movements against the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.
- Age: 40 years old;
- Vice-president: Samara Martins.
The candidate mentioned in his government plan that he intends to carry out coordinated financing actions, encouraging hiring and carrying out research and development of technologies linked to production chains with higher added value, including clean and renewable energy.
Lula (PT)
Union leader in São Paulo's ABC and founder of the PT (Workers' Party), candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva became President of the Republic in 2002, after being defeated in previous elections. As president, he managed to be re-elected in 2006 for another four years in office until the end of 2010.
- Age: 76 years old
- Vice President: Geraldo Alckmin
The PT leader promises: commitment to social, environmental, economic sustainability and combating climate change.
In its government plan, it highlights that it intends to make efforts to advance the energy transition to guarantee the future of the planet, supporting the “emergence of an inclusive green economy, based “on the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity in all biomes Brazilians”, highlights the document.
Lula also promises that he will adopt a national development strategy, with the valorization of energy production that opens up possibilities for new types of industries and services.
“It is essential to guarantee the country’s sovereignty and energy security, by expanding the energy supply, deepening the diversification of the matrix, with the expansion of clean and renewable sources at prices compatible with the Brazilian reality.”
The candidate also highlights the need to expand the production capacity of derivatives in Brazil, taking advantage of “the great wealth of the pre-salt, with prices that take into account production costs in Brazil”.
Simone Tebet (MDB)
Simone Tebet has a law degree from UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro) and has a career as a lawyer and teacher. Her journey into politics began in 2003, when she was elected state deputy, in addition to being mayor of Três Lagoas (RS) for two terms (2005 – 2010).
- Age: 52 years old;
- Vice President: Mara Gabrilli.
Running for president for the first time, the candidate promises to accelerate Brazil's transition to a cleaner and more renewable matrix, through competing energy sources, such as solar, wind, hydraulics, biofuels, biomass, green hydrogen, ethanol and natural gas, and in particular applied to integrated public transport in large urban centers.
“We will place the principles of sustainability and the green economy at the center of all public policies, aimed at decarbonization and in favor of reducing, compensating, adapting and mitigating the effects of climate change”, highlights his government plan.
Sofia Manzano (PCB)
Sofia has a degree in economic sciences from PUC-SP (Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo), a master's degree in economic development and a doctorate in economic history from USP (University of São Paulo).
- Age: 51 years old;
- Vice-president: Antônio Alves.
The candidate highlighted that her government will strongly encourage the development of energy generation from solar, wind and other renewable sources, and discourage the generation of energy by burning fossil fuels, such as coal and oil.
“Actions aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions will be reinforced, with the improvement of production processes, the fight against deforestation, the promotion of reforestation actions (…) the reduction of energy generation through the burning of fossil fuels and the promotion of energy generation from solar and wind sources”, he highlighted.
Soraya Thronicke (União Brasil)
Soraya currently presides over the União Brasil Mulher Nacional and the party directory in Mato Grosso do Sul. She has a degree in law with specializations in the following areas: business, tax and Family and Successions. She contested her first elections in 2018, when she was elected to the Federal Senate.
- Age: 49 years old;
- Vice-president: Marcos Cintra.
The candidate assesses that it is necessary to develop a strategic energy management project in the country and transform it into State policy, prioritizing the production of clean energy, such as solar and wind, in addition to implementing a management model for organizations operating in the sector.
“The mobilization of important international political sectors focused on regulatory action on environmental issues is real. Brazilian environmental and energy policy must prioritize sustainability, innovation and social well-being. To this end, it is necessary to converge and integrate government actions to develop the biodiversity economy and increase the productive capacity of clean and alternative energy”, highlights his government plan.
The document also presents a list of actions to be taken so that Brazil can improve its environmental policies. The main ones are:
- Strengthening of ANEEL.
- Interministerial planning coordinated at the Ministry of the Environment.
- Stimulate the transition from a captive energy access market to the free market, aiming to benefit consumers.
- Invest in the production of clean energy and energy efficiency, through public policies focused on renewable energy.
- Advance structural reforms, aiming to create and/or modernize regulatory frameworks necessary to enable the creation of an efficient low-carbon economy.
- Plan actions to combat vulnerabilities caused by dependence on hydroelectric dams, as changes in river flows affect our capacity to produce hydroelectric energy.
No proposals
The following candidates superficially mentioned or did not present relevant proposals regarding the renewable energy sector in their government plans: José Maria Eymael (DC) and Vera Lúcia (PSTU).
