Brazilian ethanol does not threaten Amazon forests
27 June 2007
Letter written by Ambassador José Mauricio Bustani, published in the Financial Times on 27 June 2007.
Sir, With regard to concerns that growing biofuels in Brazil is encouraging deforestation ("Warning to producers of biofuels to give up sugar", June 19), it should be pointed out that there is no sugarcane cultivation in the Amazon region. Eighty-five per cent of Brazil's sugarcane is grown in the south-central region, hundreds of miles from the Amazon rainforest, and the rest is in the north-east. This is because the soil and climate of the Amazon region are absolutely inappropriate for the crop. In wet climates sugarcane acts like a sponge, hindering the formation of sucrose.
Only 10 per cent of Brazil's cultivated land (less than 1 per cent of the total land mass) is used for sugarcane production, and yet sugarcane ethanol has substituted 40 per cent of the country's petrol needs. Over 85 per cent of the cars sold in Brazil are flexi-fuel, meaning they can run on ethanol, petrol or any combination of the two. Thanks to sugarcane ethanol and to the remarkable achievements of Petrobras, Brazil has achieved energy security and oil self-sufficiency.
Furthermore, due to productivity gains, the expansion of ethanol production in Brazil has been accompanied by a simultaneous increase in the production of food crops.
Sir, With regard to concerns that growing biofuels in Brazil is encouraging deforestation ("Warning to producers of biofuels to give up sugar", June 19), it should be pointed out that there is no sugarcane cultivation in the Amazon region. Eighty-five per cent of Brazil's sugarcane is grown in the south-central region, hundreds of miles from the Amazon rainforest, and the rest is in the north-east. This is because the soil and climate of the Amazon region are absolutely inappropriate for the crop. In wet climates sugarcane acts like a sponge, hindering the formation of sucrose.
Only 10 per cent of Brazil's cultivated land (less than 1 per cent of the total land mass) is used for sugarcane production, and yet sugarcane ethanol has substituted 40 per cent of the country's petrol needs. Over 85 per cent of the cars sold in Brazil are flexi-fuel, meaning they can run on ethanol, petrol or any combination of the two. Thanks to sugarcane ethanol and to the remarkable achievements of Petrobras, Brazil has achieved energy security and oil self-sufficiency.
Furthermore, due to productivity gains, the expansion of ethanol production in Brazil has been accompanied by a simultaneous increase in the production of food crops.