Challenges and opportunities of sustainable developments was one of the panels discussing topics of the BRICS Business Forum. The executive director of Unica, Eduardo Leão de Sousa, reviewed the scenario of sugarcane production in Brazil since 1973, when the Proálcool program started and ethanol became the main source of renewable energy in Brazil. “Whether as a fuel or as a source of bioelectricity, sugarcane is the source of almost 20% of the energy consumed in Brazil”, he said. Some of the main challenges faced by the countries can be toned down with the use of ethanol, such as air pollution, CO2 emissions, and the need of oil imports. All of this has positive impacts on the local economy. When compared to fossil fuels, ethanol can reduce total emissions by up to 90%. Eduardo Leão explained that, since 2003, ethanol has prevented the emission of 535 million tons of GHGs in Brazil, this is equivalent to the planting of 4 billion native trees. That makes ethanol an important option for the other BRICS countries.
Source: Agência Safras
*Translated by Ia Niani