Abstract

Natural gas, considered an alternative to more pollutant fossil fuels, represents around 20% of the global energy supply nowadays. In Brazil, its participation has greatly increased since 1998 (from 3.7% in 1998 to 9.3% in 2005), more than any other energy source in the same period. This scenario of increasing utilization is followed by the need to understand the whole environmental licensing process required for building and operating natural gas transportation and distribution lines. The risk of environmental impacts must be adequately foreseen and mitigated to allow the ...