Ethanol and inclusion: how Brazil can act in the energy transition

by Andrea
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When debating energy solutions and the industry of the future, leaders from the public and private sector talk about the challenges and solutions involving the energy transition in Brazil.

The statements were made in the third panel of the CNN Talks – COP30which took place this Wednesday (15), in Brasília, right after the official pre-COP.

As the voice of the public sector, Julia Cruz, national secretary of Green Economy, Decarbonization and Bioindustry at Mdic (Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services), says he does not see the energy transition as just a kind of “environmental project”, but rather a development project for Brazil.

“We are thinking about a development project, which means that we are transitioning to a greener industry, to a more inclusive industry, because it is impossible to do one without the other”, said the panelist.

Cruz added that there is a transformation of resources that are being mobilized in the sector for what he calls “measurable impacts”, such as avoided emissions, developed technology and employment and income, in addition to pilot sustainable investment projects at BNDES (National Bank for Economic and Social Development), for example, but which aim to focus on industries that emit more carbon, such as plastics and chemicals.

The national secretary for Green Economy also mentioned “financing with green conditionality”, which links the financing term and the interest rate value to the amount of reduced emissions, which would serve as short-term transition measures.

Another voice from public authorities present on the panel CNN Talks COP30 was the federal deputy Arnaldo Jardim (Citizenship-SP).

Jardim, which presides over Special Commission on Energy Transition and Green Hydrogen Production, chose to take stock of how the Brazilian Congress has followed the issue of energy transition.

“We recently managed to produce the Low Carbon Hydrogen Regulatory Framework”said Jardim.

“Our biofuel matrix is ​​unparalleled in the world. Because we have added biomethane, the sustainable aviation fuel, and not only in numbers and goals, which are bold, but it is the most advanced in the world when we decide that we will measure the carbon burden from cradle to grave.”

“We managed to approve this project in Parliament with more than 480 votes out of 513. This gives a guarantee that it will not be a government policy, it will be a State policy. I think, moreover, I think we are finding a way to affirm a national development project for Brazil”, added the parliamentarian.

Jardim states that the energy transition and renewable energy model could build a brand for the country, a type of “leading axis”.

In the private sector, João Irineu, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Stellantis for South Americao .

Irineu adds that the company currently sells 30% ethanol and 70% gasoline for light, passenger and commercial vehicles.

“We can do this electrification work in a gradual way, to make a balanced transition, from an environmental, economic and mainly social point of view. We don’t need disruptive changes in the automotive sector to make decarbonization happen”, defended the VP of regulatory affairs at Stellantis for Latin America.

, added that the Brazilian model of mixing anhydrous ethanol in gasoline, in which there is a 30% mixture, is a more effective model for reducing emissions by taking advantage of existing structures, such as gas stations.

According to him, this model can be replicated abroad, such as India.

Expectations and opportunities for COP30

“We are on a path of acceleration,” he said, when questioned during the panel.

“A lot of it is solar, which is growing stronger than any other technology. Wind, then green hydrogen and hydroelectric.”

Among the challenges, he cites planning. According to him, the investment would require much more time and bureaucracy. Furthermore, there is the issue of financing as a challenge, due to the concentration of the world’s large financial centers for renewable energy, such as China or European countries.

For some, like Backwell, COP is an opportunity to show unity on climate and energy goals, and, according to him, there is no “better country” to show unity.

For others, like Julia Cruz, it is also important that the world sees not only the symbolism of holding the 2025 United Nations Conference on Climate Change in the Amazon, but also the solutions to local inequalities.

“In very impoverished regions, it is important to give the population an alternative for development. Because otherwise they will inevitably fall into predatory activities”, adds the Mdic secretary, citing drug trafficking and mining, for example.

According to her, biofuels can be considered interesting solutions not only due to the Brazilian translation in the area but due to the ability to deconcentrate regional income and the size of the enterprises.

Microbiorefineries can exist in containers, for example, as a chestnut producer, it is possible to use waste from its own production to generate chemicals and fuels.

“With public policy that allows this technology to reach producers, ‘bio’ has great potential for regional deconcentration and income deconcentration.”

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