Ethanol fuel in Brazil: policies and carbon emission avoidance
Danilo R. D. Aguiar, Farzad Taheripour, Diogo Aparecido Lopes Silva
Abstract
Since the launch of the first biofuel policy (Proalcool), in 1975, Brazil has developed a remarkable ethanol fuel industry which is now a major component of the country’s strategy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this paper we analyze how biofuel policies have affected the ethanol industry and how this industry has contributed to GHG emission reduction. Our study innovates by considering both Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Land Use Change (LUC) emissions and for covering the period from 1975 to 2022. We found that the use of ethanol fuel allowed significant emission savings for the transportation sector, causing GHG emission reductions of 39–46% compared with gasoline and a total avoided emission greater than 828 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. We identified that market drivers have been more decisive in fostering the ethanol industry, but biofuel policies also have a major influence on the development of the ethanol sector. Due to that, there are concerns about the environmental impact of the new biofuel policy (RenovaBio) as it ignores LUC emissions. To avoid adverse effects, we recommend that biofuel policies should consider all potential adverse impacts of LUC and should also involve strong actions aiming to halt deforestation.