LatinNews Daily - 24 January 2025

*Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has promulgated legislation to set up the Programa de Aceleração da Transição Energética (Paten), an initiative to fund renewable energy projects. Paten aims to facilitate access to credit for energy production and companies involved in infrastructure or technological innovation. The funding for the programme will be managed by the state-owned national development bank (BNDES). When Lula promulgated the bill into law, he vetoed some articles, such as a measure which would have provided funding for the production of battery components including accumulators and separators. The government stated that the veto was due to uncertainty over the budgetary impact of funding manufacturers of these components. Another measure that was vetoed was an article that proposed funding for producing vehicles fuelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG).