ABSTRACT
Between 2011 and 2016, Brazil regressed to a more conservative position in terms of climate commitment, albeit without reaching the status of climate villain, as it did in the 1990s and early 2000s. The pillars of that regression had to do with the country's emissions profile and its policy profile. Throughout much of the period, from 2011 to 2016, the Rousseff administration was able to maintain a carbon-intensive policy without paying a major political price for doing so. In part, this was due to the decline of several reformist actors of the preceding period, like the Ministry of Environment which accepted the conservative tendencies of Rousseff's policies; the environmental movement. The Rousseff administration displayed a visible neglect for forest-related and environmental issues, and it was aggravated by the decline of the fiscal situation. Ultimately, a populist, nationalistic economic policy was the main driver of climate commitment decline between 2011 and 2016.
