Brazil in the G-20 Presidency and the Global Biofuels Alliance

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March 09, 2024

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by Jefferson dos Santos Estevo* and Laís Forti Thomaz** (Advanced Biofuels USA) The Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA) was launched in October 2023 during the 18th G-20 Summit in India. That country held the rotating presidency of the group, which consists of 19 countries and 2 regional blocs (G-20,2024a).

One Earth, One Family, One Future

The host country can indicate the main themes of the discussion agenda, connected to two tracks: the Finance Track, addressing economic issues, and the Sherpa Track, responsible for various international agenda topics such as climate change, agriculture, health, and energy transition (G-20, 2024b). The Indian summit's motto was "One Earth, One Family, One Future," centered around environmental protection, "leading to globally transformative actions resulting in a cleaner, greener, and bluer future" (India, 2023a).

*At the creation of the Global Biofuels Alliance in India.*

The creation of the GBA is an initiative of three global producers and consumers of biofuels: the United States, Brazil, and India.

As India was holding the G-20 presidency, an opportunity emerged to launch this new international cooperative alliance. India has implemented new policies on the subject, particularly in the pursuit of energy transition, especially in ethanol usage (India, 2023b; Brazil, 2023a). In 2020, the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) program was implemented in India, aiming to increase sugarcane ethanol utilization in petroleum, by up to 20% by 2025. This move aims to reduce oil imports, boost the ethanol industry, and contribute to energy transition (India, 2024a), in the third-largest global greenhouse gas emitter (WRI, 2024).

The central idea of the GBA is to establish international standards for sustainable biofuel production, promoting socially and environmentally responsible production practices. This not only strengthens global energy security, but also contributes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

The alliance includes countries with significant biofuel production, especially ethanol: the United States - as the first, and Brazil - as the second. Argentina ranks sixth, India seventh (IEA, 2022; Statista, 2022), and 18 other countries and 12 international organizations are also part of it (India, 2023b). Thus, “the alliance will also act as a central repository of knowledge and an expert hub, aiming to catalyze global collaboration for the advancement and widespread adoption of biofuels” (India, 2023b,n.p).

Meetings of G-20 in India: The last G20 Summit
meeting was held in New Delhi, India,
on September 9-10, 2023.
Credit: Ricardo Stuckert/PR

Beginning of the End of Fossil Fuel

At the end of the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) - 2023 -, in the United Arab Emirates, an agreement was reached to mark the "beginning of the end" of the fossil fuel era, emphasizing the importance of energy transition to keep global temperatures below 1.5°C (UNFCCC, 2023,n.p). COP30 is scheduled for 2025 in Brazil, in the city of Belém, Pará, in the Amazonian territory.

In December 2023, Brazil assumed the G-20 presidency for 2024, and will be hosting the Annual G-20 Summit of Leaders in September in Rio de Janeiro.

Thus, Brazil will lead two significant international events, allowing the country to solidify its foreign policy leadership. The central themes for the G-20 are the fight against inequality and hunger, addressing climate change, and international governance reform (G-20, 2024c).

This is particularly crucial, because numerous national and international discussions often overlook the essential role that renewable fuels can play in addressing climate change. Also, for many countries it is an alternative to ensuring energy security and independence from oil. Brazil, drawing upon its extensive experience and knowledge, stands poised to offer valuable insights into the link between biofuels and climate change. This understanding is paramount for a successful transition away from fossil fuels.

The biofuels agenda is crucial for Brazil, being a global leader in production and usage, and playing a vital role in mitigating climate change. According to the Minister of Mines and Energy, "Now that Brazil has assumed the G20 presidency, we have the necessary forum to consolidate biofuels as important vectors for promoting energy transition" (Silveira, 2024).

For Brazil, a global biofuel market is of paramount importance, solidifying its current policies. This includes the recently launched Future Fuel Program, which aims to increase the ethanol blend in gasoline from 27% to 30%. Additionally, the program seeks to boost the share of biodiesel and to establish the country's first rules for Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), targeting a 10% reduction in sector emissions by 2037. This initiative holds tremendous potential for ethanol-to-jet pathways for production of SAF in Brazil (Fick, 2023; Marshall, 2023).

Leading the Global South to Address Climate Change

Furthermore, during COP-28, Brazil’s federal government introduced the Ecological Transformation Plan, an initiative aimed at promoting sustainable development and rethinking international financing to help countries in the Global South address climate change. This initiative can play a crucial role in energy transition, contributing to the promotion of biofuels on a global scale (Brazil, 2023b)

Therefore, similar to India using its G-20 presidency to promote the launch of the GBA and its initiatives, Brazil should seize this opportunity to enhance its global image as a country with a clean electricity matrix, as a leader in biofuel production. Through its leadership of the G-20, Brazil can serve as an example, with its commitment to climate mitigation, especially with recent deforestation reduction policies and the resurgence in Brazilian environmental policies which revise the policies of the Bolsonaro government (Estevo, Ferreira, 2022; Rodriguez, 2023; Brazil, 2024).

This will undoubtedly be of great relevance during the COP30 presidency. The moment is of significant importance for Brazil, reclaiming its prominence in international relations, particularly in the field of climate change. Brazil will leverage the GBA to elevate its leadership in this context, promote even more significant participation in the global market, and assist other countries in emissions reduction, and, thus, contribute to climate change mitigation.

References:

Brazil.(2023a). Launch of the Global Biofuels Alliance. Ministério das Relações Exteriores. Available at:https://www.gov.br/mre/en/contact-us/press-area/press-relea
ses/launch-of-the-global-biofuels-alliance

Brazil. (2023b). Brazil unveils Ecological Plan at COP28 as Global South proposal. Agência Brasil. Available at: https://agenciabrasil.ebc.com.br/en/internacional/noti
cia/2023-12/brazil-unveils-ecological-plan-cop28-global-south-proposal

Estevo, J..; Ferreira, L..(2022) A política externa do governo Jair Bolsonaro para mudanças climáticas: ruptura negativa e os riscos. In.: Gonçalves, F.; Loureiro, G.; Mello, B. (Orgs.). Política Externa no Governo Bolsonaro: temas, resultados e retrocessos. Ed. 1. Belo Horizonte: Lemos Mídia. 2022. Availeble at: https://lemosmidia.com.br/produto/politica-externa-no-governo-bolsonaro-temas-resultados-e-retrocessos/

Flick, J. (2023). Brazil's Lula launches 'Fuel of the Future' program to reduce emissions.S&P Global Commodity. Available at:https://www.spglobal.com/commodity
insights/en/market-insights/latest-news/oil/091523-brazils-lula-launches-fuel-of-the-future-program-to-reduce-emissions

G-20.(2024a). About The G-20 Group is the main forum for international economic cooperation. The G-20 Group. Available at:https://www.g20.org/en/about-the-g20

G-20.(2024b). Tracks Sherpa and Finance Tracks: how G20 topics are discussed.The G-20 Group. Available at: https://www.g20.org/en/tracks

G-20.(2024c). G-20 Brasil Construindo um futuro justo e um planeta sustentável. The G-20 Group. Available at:https://www.g20.org/pt-br?activeAccordion=eaed667
b-c546-4d75-bd82-5fcacca1e4c9

IEA. (2022). Biofuel production by country/region and fuel type, 2016-2022. International Energy Agency. Available at: https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/
charts/biofuel-production-by-country-region-and-fuel-type-2016-2022

India.(2023a). India G-20 “One Earth · One Family · One Future”. India G-20.Available at: https://www.g20.in/en/g20-india-2023/logo-theme.html

India.(2023b). About Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA). Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India. Available at: https://mopng.gov.in/en/page/68

India. (2024). Road Map for Ethanol for India. Ethanol for India. Available at: https://www.ethanolforindia.com/

Marshal, E. (2023). Brazil’s Future Fuel program seeks to reduce emissions. The Brazilian Report. Available at:https://brazilian.report/liveblog/politics-insider/2023/07/
19/future-fuel-emissions/

Silveira, A. (2023). Em Davos, Silveira propõe agência internacional de fomento a biocombustíveis.Agência EPBR.Available at:https://epbr.com.br/em-davos-silveira
-propoe-agencia-internacional-de-fomento-a-biocombustiveis/ .

Statista.(2022).Leading countries based on biofuel production worldwide in 2022. Statista Portal. Available at:https://www.statista.com/statistics/274168/biofuel-produ
ction-in-leading-countries-in-oil-equivalent/

Rodriguez,M. (2023). Amazon protector: the Brazilian politician who turned the tide on deforestation. Nature. Available at:https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-
023-03921-7

UNFCCC. COP28 Agreement Signals “Beginning of the End” of the Fossil Fuel Era. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Available at:https://unfccc.int/news/cop28-agreement-signals-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-fossil-fuel-era

World Resources Institute.(2024). This Interactive Chart Shows Changes in the World's Top 10 Emitters. Available at: https://www.wri.org/insights/interactive-chart-s
hows-changes-worlds-top-10-emitters?utm_campaign=socialmedia&utm_source=wriclimate&utm_medium=twitter

*Dr. Jefferson dos Santos Estevo is a postdoctoral researcher in Political Science at the Federal University of Goiás. His current research is on BASIC countries and the civil aviation sector energy transition, with the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels. His work is funded by CNPQ and FAPEG.

**Dr. Lais Forti Thomaz, an Advanced Biofuels USA board member, is a researcher at the Brazilian Network of Biokerosene and Renewable Hydrocarbons for Aviation (RBQAV); member of the Working Group (WG) of Volunteers of the Renovabio Program of the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME); organizer of events on renewable energy, bioeconomy and low carbon economy; she was a contributor to a report by UNCTAD (2016) and winner of the Top Ethanol Award 2011 and the Academic Award of the National Ethanol Conference in 2015 in the United States.

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