In the past 12 years, thanks to the blending of ethanol with petrol or its use as a pure fuel in its cars, Brazil has been able to reduce its carbon dioxide(CO2) emissions by an amount equivalent to the total annual emissions of Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay and Paraguay combined.

In a European context, this is the equivalent to the total annual CO2 emissions of Poland.

Though greenhouse gas emissions are usually traced to the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation in Brazil has played a huge role in causing it.

Brazil is home to the largest part (about 60%) of the Amazon rainforest and, as little as 10 years ago, it had the highest deforestation rate in the world. This led to a huge amount of carbon being emitted into the atmosphere instead of being absorbed. It made Brazil one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters. Ironically, emissions from deforestation dwarfed those from energy or even agriculture, despite the land being opened up to increase production of beef or soya.

But, in the past 10 years, as a result of policies to fight deforestation in the Amazon, Brazil turned this trend around. It dramatically reduced deforestation by 75% in the last decade saving more than 33,000 square miles of rainforest at the same time.

Despite this progress, embarrassingly for the government, data last November revealed that 1.5m acres of land was cut down or burned in 2015 in the Brazilian Amazon – 16% more than in 2014.

Weaker government regulation, dams, roads and other infrastructure projects, along with the growing strength of the agricultural lobby and the faltering economy, are being blamed for the increase.

As the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, last year Brazil announced that it would reduce its greenhouse gases by 37% by 2025 from 2005 levels as part of the Paris accord, and would aim for a 43% cut by 2030.

The plan is to be financed by Germany, which will provide loans of up to €0.5bn to fund the development of renewable energy sources and to preserve the tropical forests. It will also donate €23m to help Brazil establish a rural land registry aimed at enhanced monitoring of deforestation.

One of the key pillars of the plan will be to make renewable energy account for 45% of the country’s total energy mix, well above the global average of just 13%. But what the plan fails to outline is that today, renewable energy makes up around 40% of the country’s total energy mix, which prompts some criticism that the new plan isn’t ambitious enough.

Brazil also intends to promote low-carbon agricultural and grazing land practices through the promotion of sustainable agriculture and productivity enhancement. In some areas of Brazil, each farmer must leave between 30% and 50% of their farmed land in a conservation zone. Farmers do not receive any subsidies for this.

Due to a combination of geography and policy, Brazil has developed a truly unique energy mix. It has successfully moved from importing almost 80% of its total oil consumption in the 1970s to becoming virtually energy independent today. Significant contributions come from hydroelectricity, ethanol and biomass. Brazil’s current largest source of renewable electricity, hydroelectricity, is under pressure due to recent droughts.

Thanks to the country’s significant arable land and favourable growing conditions, Brazil’s sugar industry, which produces ethanol, already plays a large role in the country’s overall energy mix (accounting for 16%). With Brazil expecting to need 50% more energy in the next 15 years, ethanol and biomass looks like it will play a substantially increased role in this mix.

Development of ethanol industry

Through effective government policies, Brazil has focused on developing a competitive sugarcane industry and making ethanol a key part of its energy mix. This has seen about 40% of its petrol needs replaced with sugarcane ethanol – making petrol now the alternative fuel here.

It comes as no surprise therefore that, today, Brazil is the world’s largest sugarcane ethanol producer. It became the first country to use ethanol as a motor fuel. Petrol stations don’t have diesel or petrol, but offer gasoline or ethanol instead. Government policies dictate what the blend of gasoline/ethanol is, which tends to vary between 18% and 30%.

Another key part of the development of the industry has been the introduction of flex-fuel cars. The country first began using ethanol in vehicles as early as the 1920s, but it wasn’t until the oil shock of the 1970s that it became more common. However, sugarcane ethanol’s popularity took off in 2003 with the introduction of flex-fuel vehicles that run on either gasoline or pure ethanol.

Today more than 90% of new cars sold in Brazil are flex-fuel, making up about half of the country’s entire car numbers. Through this initiative alone, since 2003, the combination of sugarcane ethanol and flex-fuel vehicles has reduced Brazil’s emissions of carbon dioxide by more than 300m t.

Comment

Through a strong vision and government policies, Brazil has developed a renewable energy sector that capitalises on its key competitive advantage – a large area of highly productive land and excellent climate for growing. While it continues to have challenges around deforestation, it remains committed to climate change with specific targets in place.

What is most remarkable is what it has achieved in less than a decade. Taking ethanol, it has also been able to bring industry-wide change, along with integrating the supply chain from field to car.

The motor industry has adapted by developing new vehicles and oil companies have adapted their outlets to offer the choice of petrol or ethanol, along with developing their own blending facilities.

Is it possible for Ireland to achieve a similar level of change that would further enhance our green and sustainable credentials. Who could lead this vision and how could it be delivered?

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