Brazilian Ethanol Industry Schmoozes the EU

by Frank Williams

Published: May 14th, 2008

brazilian ethanol industry schmoozes the eu

Autoblog Green reports that Brazil is launching a "diplomatic offensive" to promote its sugarcane ethanol exports to the EU, culminating at this November's World Biofuel Summit in São Paulo. Underlying the push: a Brazilian ethanol glut that American corn farmers have sworn their lives to keep on the other side of the border (and yes, we do have a border). Speaking to the Europeans, Brazil's Director of Energy tried to contrast Brazilian sugar-based ethanol and American corn-based ethanol. André Caranha Correa arguies that his countries product does not impact foodstocks. Of course, Brazilian ethanol does present a number of less-than-feel-good challenges, from widespread ecological impacts to the near-slave labor conditions of workers in the sugar industry. But hey, what else are charm offensives for?

Frank Williams

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Engineer on May 14, 2008
Though I believe ethanol to be economically destructive in the US, it would be less-so if we imported it from Brazil and left our breadbasket to produce bread. Until the sugar crisis hits. Then the cries would be to leave Brazil's "sugarbasket" to produce sugar.

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John Williams on May 14, 2008
Until the sugar crisis hits. Then the cries would be to leave Brazil’s “sugarbasket” to produce sugar. Wait a sec....don't we mainly use high fructose corn syrup in everything we eat these days? I don't think we'd have to be worried.

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David C. Holzman on May 14, 2008

Any carving up of the Brazilian rainforest for biofuels is extremely destructive environmentally, From the point of view of carbon impact, so much carbon is sequestered in an acre of rainforest in both the soil and the biomass that it would take a few hundred years of growing biofuels to repay the carbon debt caused by clearing the land. So buying the stuff from brazil is no environmental panacea. Actually, even clearing new land in the US to grow biofuels creates a carbon debt of 30-100 years.

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Anonymous on May 14, 2008
John Williams : May 14th, 2008 at 1:16 pm Until the sugar crisis hits. Then the cries would be to leave Brazil’s “sugarbasket” to produce sugar. Wait a sec….don’t we mainly use high fructose corn syrup in everything we eat these days? I don’t think we’d have to be worried. In large part due to protectionist policies that limit the importation of sugar.

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