Ruptures from the cattle policy: An analysis according to the Sustainable Development Goals

Abstract Brazil has experienced a notable weakening of its institutional framework related to the implementation of an agenda for sustainability since the Jair Bolsonaro Administration. Aiming to identify trends and ruptures, this paper explores four axes of current Brazilian environmental governance, taking four Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as an analysis tool: Gender (SDG 5), Energy (SDG 7), Solid Waste (SDG 12), and Life on Land (SDG 15). The study is structured as a critical essay, supported by the historical evolution of the indicators associated with the analyzed SDGs. It is concluded that there has been a weakening of environmental governance, within an understanding of the importance of a multi-stakeholder articulation and participatory governance. It is verified that there cracks have developed since 2019 at the federal level, with a discontinuity in a number of key policies, while at the territorial levels, there are historical trends that already showed injustices in the social and environmental scope, which have been aggravated in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.