CONAMA Restructures the National Air Quality Control Program and Establishes Environmental Licensing Requirements

On April 9, 2026, the National Environmental Council (CONAMA) issued Resolution No. 513/2026, which restructures the National Air Quality Control Program (“Pronar”) and revokes CONAMA Resolution No. 5/1989, which previously governed the matter. The new regulation, which entered into force on the date of its publication, significantly expands the scope of Pronar by introducing specific objectives, new control instruments, and detailed obligations related to emissions inventories, management plans, and environmental licensing criteria for air pollution sources.

In summary, the Resolution establishes 15 objectives for Pronar, including the progressive reduction of atmospheric pollutant emissions and concentrations, alignment with climate change policies, improvement of air quality nationwide, and compliance with national air-quality standards.

Among the instruments provided for, particular attention should be given to the provisions concerning environmental licensing and the preparation of atmospheric emissions inventories. This aspect is especially relevant in light of the fact that the recently enacted General Environmental Licensing Law (Law No. 15,190/2025) did not incorporate specific provisions addressing the integration between environmental licensing and climate policy, thereby maintaining a degree of regulatory fragmentation and interpretative uncertainty on this issue.

The new Resolution provides that, in environmental licensing processes involving continuous air quality monitoring obligations, the competent environmental authority must require the submission of monitoring data to official air-quality information systems. Furthermore, in areas that do not comply with applicable air-quality standards, the licensing authority must require additional control measures and may even deny the license application if it identifies a risk of non-compliance with such standards.

Where an Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Impact Report (“EIA/RIMA”) is required, the study must include, at a minimum: (i) an environmental baseline based on official monitoring data; (ii) atmospheric dispersion modelling for each pollutant subject to air quality standards; (iii) analysis of impacts and locational and technological alternatives; (iv) detailed mitigation measures; and (v) an emissions monitoring program.

For licensing processes not requiring an EIA/RIMA, applicants must provide an estimate of pollutant loads, a description of emission control equipment, and a monitoring program. The Resolution allows, at the discretion of the environmental authority, for the waiver of these requirements for low-emission activities or those located in remote areas, subject to parameters to be defined in a forthcoming Guidance Document on Environmental Licensing for Air Pollution Sources.

Another relevant aspect concerns the allocation of regulatory powers: while CONAMA remains responsible for establishing emission limits for fixed, mobile, and diffuse sources, state and Federal District environmental authorities may adopt stricter standards where local conditions so require.

With respect to the implementation of Pronar, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA) must publish, within 18 months, guidance documents establishing directives for the preparation of atmospheric emissions inventories for fixed and mobile sources. Additionally, the MMA will have two years to develop the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory and a further two years to prepare the National Air Quality Management Plan.

Finally, it is worth noting that the restructuring of Pronar is taking place in parallel with the ongoing revision of the National Policy on Climate Change (PNMC), which also signals the increasing incorporation of climate variables—including climate-risk assessment—into environmental licensing instruments.

Tauil & Chequer Advogados in association with Mayer Brown’s Environmental, Climate Change and Sustainability Practice remains available to provide further clarification on the regulatory impacts of this new Resolution.