E
thanolfuelis,dayafterday,display-
ingtoBrazilianpeople thebenefits
it generates, particularly for the
environment, and could expand
even further these effects with
the new programnow being debated in the
Country, known as RenovaBio. “Carbon me-
ter” createdby theBrazilianSugarcane Indus-
try Association (Unica), to measure the emis-
sions of carbon dioxide (CO2), detected that
fromMarch 2003 to April 2017, after the arriv-
al of flex vehicles in the Country, 408.4million
tons of this pollutant were prevented from
spilling into the atmosphere, thanks to the
sugarcane-based biofuel, either hydrated
(sold at gas stations) or anhydrous (mixed
with gasoline at a proportion of 27%).
The expressive volume is equivalent to
the reduction of nearly 99 tons per minute
andtothesumoftheemissionsofseveralEu-
ropean countries (Portugal, Austria, Belgium,
Hungary, Sweden, Ireland and Slovenia) in
2012alone, says AlfredSzwarc, Emissionand
Technology Consultant at Unica, based on
data from American organizations. In order
to demonstrate the dimension of the envi-
ronmental effect, he maintains that the pre-
vented emissions correspond to the amount
obtained from the planting of 3 billion native
treesover a20-year period.
The benefits of ethanol relative to the en-
vironment shall be given special attention
by the RenovaBio Program, launched by the
federal government in December 2016, now
being debated, and is supported by the sec-
tor. The goal of the initiative consists in re-
ducing the emission of greenhouse gases
by 43percent and raise the shareof biofuels
by 18 percent in the energy matrix by 2030,
in line with targets set by the Country at the
21st Conference of the Parties (COP21), in
late 2015, in Paris, thus stimulating new in-
vestments, recalled Fernando Coelho Filho,
minister of Mines and Energy, in June 2017,
at theAgroenergyCommitteeof theBrazilian
AgribusinessAssociation (Abag).
In the same month, the National Coun-
cil for EnergyPolicy (CNPE) gave its approv-
al to the program, and throughout the year
the subject has been the target of deci-
sions, with an eye to the creation of its reg-
ulatory mark. According to Elizabeth Fari-
na, director of Unica, “Brazil urgently needs
a carbon free policy with regard to trans-
ports, which should liberate investments
in the sugar and energy sector, generating
economy, jobs and income, ultimatelyben-
efiting the environment. We have to place
value on the comparative advantage com-
ing from sugarcane-based ethanol”.
The program’s initial purpose is in line
with the sector’s yearning, which has for
years been seeking a long term policy, one
that ismore predictable. The sector hopes to
have the policymaterialized in the definition
of its rules and in its effective implementa-
tion, giving ethanol its due value. Within this
context, the industrial entity is strengthening
its efforts and, according to Antonio de Pad-
uaRodrigues, technical director, theexpecta-
tion is for the matter to be fully regulated by
late2018,andenterintoforceinearly2019.
n
Biofuels benefit the environment
greatlyandcouldexpandtheirsharewiththe
implementationoftheRenovaBioProgram
Theenvironment
is
thankful
Sílvio Ávila
41
