Agrofuels: The Brazilian Perspective.

The world is dealing with giant puzzles involving interconnected aspects related to food, energy and environmental security. Today, fossil fuels are responsible for 80% of the greenhouse-effect gases causing global climatic change. Governments, pressured by the chaotic projections of these changes, are looking for alternative energy sources, such as wind, nuclear and biomass (agroenergy). In this context, agrofuels, particularly bioethanol and biodiesel, will play an important role. In the last 30 years, the planted area for grains in Brazil grew 27%, while productivity increased 124%. This expressive growth in productivity paralleled the growth of bioethanol production, during the same period, made Brazil the world’s second largest producer of bioethanol. This phenomenon is unmistakable proof that agrofuel production has not competed with food production. In the next 10 years, it is estimated that the global bioethanol production will grow by 25%, while Brazil’s production is expected to grow by 45%. The program of Brazilian biodiesel production, initiated in 2005, had an annual growth rate of 10% and the country is already the world’s fourth largest producer. This paper discusses the social, economic and environmental aspects of these agrofuels from a Brazilian perspective. Comparatively, Brazil offers the greatest opportunity in this sector. It holds the best agricultural technology of the tropical world. It also has the largest agricultural area with approximately 350 million hectares already open, which enables the preservation of the remaining native forests. In addition, the requirements to cultivate plants are perfect in Brazil since the country has an abundance of water and sunlight. Finally, Brazil has great leverage for labor in field production and a wealth of vegetable species from which bioethanol, biodiesel and biokerosene can be extracted, all within its tradition of generating clean energy. All of these conditions together place Brazil as a leader in world production of agroenergy, especially agrofuels.