Some factors are essential and Brazil has them: raw materials close to production centers, which avoids long journeys and, consequently, a greater need for fuel in transportation. Existence of electrical energy with low or zero carbon emissions, as is the case with hydroelectric, wind and biomass plants. Companies with operational excellence and production technologies that incorporate efficiency in the conversion of raw materials into products, both from the point of view of transformation and in the use of the necessary energy sources.
On the other hand, there is a lack of logistical viability, both in relation to the speed of production flow – due to a lack of viable roads or traffic jams of trucks waiting to dispatch production, and in relation to modes that have better performance in relation to the distance transported and energy consumption, such as railways and waterways.
In addition to these favorable factors, Brazil is a world leader in its clean energy matrix. Few countries have a renewable energy source index of 40%. Furthermore, a significant portion of our industrial park, whether due to lessons learned from crises alternating with periods of growth, as well as the blackout of 2001-2002 and the volatility of energy prices, has led many entrepreneurs to learn to work towards efficiency in production and energy in their processes and products. Not only for electricity consumption, but also for processes involving heating.
There are many examples of the progressive use of biomass, or the replacement of traditional fossil fuels with natural gas. Not to mention possibilities that have not yet been explored, such as the use of heat from the incineration of non-recyclable urban waste.
In the Paris Agreement, Brazil made a significant commitment to reduce its carbon intensity by 70% in relation to GDP, based on the 2005 year. Great emphasis was placed on reducing deforestation and expanding reforestation, with few countries maintaining native forests like Brazil. However, the agreement includes other significant factors, such as energy efficiency, improved efficiency in the transport sector and the promotion of biofuels.
Therefore, this is the time for government, companies and organized society to open a dialogue around how international commitment can translate into business possibilities related to low-emission products.
Without an internal agreement, the tendency will be to repeat international practices, such as creating a “cap-and-trade” market or establishing taxes for some carbon-intensive industrial segments, without evaluating all possibilities. If poorly implemented, such mechanisms could discourage the industrial sector and increase the emissions problem at the international level. On the other hand, we could use the national lessons learned from labeling as a first step for any future movement.
In 1993, for example, the Procel energy-saving seal was created. This instrument allowed the development of several products in terms of efficiency. This idea expanded to several segments, including the automotive industry with the Compet/Inmetro seal. The same could be done for several industrial sectors. Establishing a seal for carbon emissions per ton produced could lead national manufacturers to have comparative improvement standards and, more than that, enable the international recognition of Brazilian products as low-carbon – since the aluminum manufactured in Brazil is 62%, which is less carbon-intensive than its similar counterparts in the world.
In the Sectoral Plan launched by the government in 2013, several manufacturing industries were cited as being of interest for national goals: aluminum, cement, pulp and paper, chemicals, iron and steel, lime and glass. Labeling by voluntary sectoral agreement would enable the establishment of parameters that would lead to a larger sectoral arrangement, within the scope of each of these production chains, aiming at improving efficiency, which would translate into savings and encourage the modernization of the sector. The government could encourage innovation to those companies that implement labeling programs and seek to modernize their production.
At the international level, comparing these emissions would show that Brazilian products can contribute to global reductions. Since they are less carbon-intensive, by choosing a Brazilian product, customers no longer buy from a higher-emitting industry, opening a positive business cycle. Countries and customers interested in this type of product would stimulate the development of the production chain.
The solution to deforestation, in the totalization of national emissions, opens space for an opportunity to increase production in Brazil for the industry that produces efficiently, leading to the generation of foreign exchange and contributing, in the medium and long term, to the total reduction of carbon in the world.
*Economic system in which a quantity of carbon dioxide that a sector of industry or country can emit is determined. Cap and trade allows companies that have reduced their emissions above what is necessary to trade their carbon credits.
Article originally published in the newspaper Valor Econômico (12/01)
