The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action.
The UNEP Latin America and the Caribbean Office (LACO), located in Panama City, Panama works closely with the 33 countries of the region, and its activities are integrated into the Medium-Term Strategy and the Programme of Work approved by the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). The overall objective of the UNEP’s Economy Division is to encourage decision makers in government, local authorities and industry to develop and adopt policies, strategies and practices and technologies that promote sustainable patterns of consumption and production, make efficient use of natural resources, ensure safe management of chemicals and contribute to making trade and environment policies mutually supportive. It promotes the development, use and transfer of policies, technologies, economic instruments, managerial practices and other tools that assist in environmentally sound decision making and the building of corresponding activities.
The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) is the strategic partnership between the United Nations and over 500 banks, insurers and investors. For over 30 years UNEP FI has been shaping and driving the international sustainable finance agenda, setting global standards and growing a global network of leading financial institutions. Through its work-stream and regional activities, peer learning, methodology development, training and research, UNEP FI promotes sustainable finance and helps the financial industry align with and contribute to the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.
Global policy and regulatory measures on sustainable finance have increased substantially over recent years. Public policy critically affects the ability of finance institutions to generate sustainable positive and reduce negative impacts through financing decisions. It affects the sustainability and stability of financial markets, as well as social, environmental and economic systems. Sustainable finance policies have become central to enabling and accelerating a successful transition.
In December 2024, Brazil enacted Law No. 15.042/2024, which created the Brazilian Emissions Trading System (Sistema Brasileiro de Comércio de Emissões — SBCE), establishing the legal basis for a national regulated carbon market based on a cap-and-trade model. The Law defines emissions thresholds of 10,000 and 25,000 tCO2e per year, which trigger different sets of reporting and compliance obligations for facilities and operators across the regulated economy.
In October 2025, the Federal Government created the Extraordinary Secretariat for the Carbon Market (Secretaria Extraordinária do Mercado de Carbono — SEMC) within the Ministry of Finance (MoF), with the mandate to coordinate the implementation of the SBCE and to develop the necessary infralegal framework. The SEMC has prioritized the completion of all sectoral regulations by December 2026, and on 12 May 2026 the SBCE Permanent Technical Advisory Committee (Comitê Técnico Consultivo Permanente — CTCP) published the package of resolutions that established the Working Groups in charge of providing technical support to the SBCE implementation process. The MoF has also presented a preliminary phased proposal for sectoral coverage, beginning in 2027 with paper & pulp, iron & steel, cement, primary aluminum, oil & gas (E&P and refining) and air transport, and extending in a second phase to mining, recycled aluminum, electricity, glass, food & beverages, chemicals, ceramics and waste management. Public consultation of the first set of sectoral norms is expected in Q4 2026.
Within this implementation timeline, the MoF has identified the need for evidence-based Sectoral Baseline Studies for specific sectors that will eventually be covered by the SBCE. The MoF has formally requested UNEP’s specialized technical expertise to develop Sectoral Baseline Studies for the priority sectors: Mining and Manufacturing (Chemicals, Glass, and Ceramics). These studies will establish standardized emission benchmarks and reference performance levels, providing the MoF with the technical foundation required to engage industrial stakeholders and to define the sectoral regulations (MRV protocols and allocation rules) due for public consultation in Q4 2026.
In this context, UNEP is seeking a senior technical consultant with proven expertise in industrial decarbonization and GHG emissions in the chemicals (organic and inorganic) sector to develop a Sectoral Baseline Study and supporting technical inputs for the implementation of the SBCE. The scope of this consultancy covers the production of organic and inorganic chemicals (sections C5 and C6 of the CNAE C — Manufacturing — booklet of the Brazilian Sustainable Taxonomy, TSB) [5], including basic inorganic chemicals (e.g. acids, bases, salts, industrial gases), basic organic chemicals (e.g. basic petrochemicals, solvents, chemical intermediates) and the main industrial processes associated with material GHG emissions. The goal of this consultancy is to develop a Sectoral Baseline Study and technical benchmarks of GHG emissions intensity (scopes 1 and 2) for the chemicals sector, providing the Ministry of Finance of Brazil — through its Carbon Market Secretariat (SEMC) — with a transparent, evidence-based methodology and reference performance levels to inform the design of the sectoral norms of the SBCE, including the MRV protocols and the allocation rules to be subject to public consultation in Q4 2026.
Under the supervision of the UNEP FI´s Policy Lead for Latin America and the Caribbean, and working in close coordination with the Global Policy Lead at UNEP FI. The consultant will work from home.