Study reveals Brazil’s potential to double biofuel production by 2050 without deforestation

According to a study released this Thursday by the Brazilian entities Institute of Energy and Environment (Iema) and the Climate Observatory (OC), Brazil has the capacity to double biofuel production and consumption by 2050 by using degraded areas for agricultural expansion.

“The report, titled Biofuels in Brazil: Aligning the Energy Transition and Land Use for a Carbon-Negative Country,” states that the South American nation, which owns 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest, “can significantly expand the production of sugarcane ethanol, biodiesel, green diesel, and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).”

The document emphasizes that the country has the capacity to leverage production “by utilizing between 20 and 35 million hectares of currently degraded land, out of a total of 56 million hectares available for agricultural expansion.”

Regarding this, Felipe Barcellos e Silva, a researcher at IEMA, explained that the nation has approximately 100 million hectares of degraded pastures, equivalent to 12 % of the national territory. “Of that total, 56 million hectares could be strategically allocated to agricultural expansion, including bioenergy crops.”

The research is based on the analysis of six possible scenarios for expanding biofuel production through 2050, “with different combinations of raw materials and technologies, four of which could be developed within the 56 million hectare limit, without the need to open new natural areas.”

The report’s core products are ethanol, the sugarcane alcohol that is required in the gasoline mix for the entire Brazilian vehicle fleet, except for hybrid and electric vehicles.

M.Pino

Source: xinhuanet

(Reference image source: Peter Leth on Unsplash)

Visit our news channel on Google News and follow us to get accurate, interesting information and stay up to date with everything. You can also see our daily content on X/Twitter and Instagram