The Sustainability of Biofuels in Brazil

Session: Industry-Government Perspectives on Biofuel and Bioenergy Sustainability

Recife, July 2014

"The sustainability of biofuels in Brazil"

Suani T Coelho

J Goldemberg

University of Sao Paulo

The concept of sustainability has evolved considerably in the 20^th century. Initially it was focused on the conservation of the landscape and biodiversity mainly in the advanced industrialized countries. The rapid growth of the world population and greater access to material goods in former undeveloped countries put strong pressures on mineral resources, leading to scarcity and increased environmental problems, such as urban air pollution and global warming. Sustainability concerns focused then on using such resources in a more rational fashion, ranging from increased efficiency to shifting the resources used, and privileging the use of renewable resources, particularly in the case of energy. The emphasis in this case is to find substitutes for the use of fossil fuels. One of them corresponds to the liquid biofuels, in which Brazil in the United States are the main producers. However, liquid biofuels sustainability is still seen as a controversial issue considering environmental and social aspects. Several studies have already discussed these issues with different points of view but today is a consensus that "bioenergy is not bad or good" but it depends on how it is produced. Contributing to this discussion, The Global Bioenergy Partnership (co-chaired by Brazil and Italy) has developed together with FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) and UNEP (United Nations Environmental Program) a set of 24 bioenergy sustainability indicators (environmental, social and economic), accepted by all its member countries. Several if these countries are already implementing this methodology in Europe, Africa and Latin America for different types of bioenergy. Brazil had not yet applied it but now a new study is starting to be developed for sugarcane ethanol mills in São Paulo State by the University of São Paulo, funded by the Government of Italy/Forum of the Americas with the support of the Brazilian Federal Government and the Secretariat for Environment of São Paulo. In this presentation a general overview of sustainability issues for sugarcane ethanol in Brazil will be presented, as well as the general context and background of the GBEP indicators to be applied in Brazil. Despite the fact that there are several certifications schemes already in place, it appears that this GBEP indicators methodology is a consensus among the governments members of GBEP and could be a good experience for comparing bioenergy among the countries.