This Sunday (12), the Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) participated in the side event “Part of the plan: The role of low carbon fuels in decarbonizing transport”, organized by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in the COP23. The panel's main objectives were to present the project below50 and discuss how companies have been overcoming barriers to the development of the low-carbon fuels market.
CEBDS technical advisor, Laura Albuquerque, presented the hub South America below50, led by the Council in partnership with ABBI, Unica, Ubrabio and Abiogás. The project seeks to create demand for fuels that, like ethanol and biodiesel, emit 50% less CO2 than traditional fuels.
“The infrastructure for biofuels is very advanced in Brazil. This contributes significantly to achieving the target of our NDC, which foresees increasing the share of biofuels in the national energy matrix to 18%. The private sector has a great business opportunity here, as we pointed out in our study. Opportunities and Challenges of the Brazilian NDC Goals for the Business Sector”, he highlighted.
Nour Amrani, senior public relations manager at Novozymes, agreed. “Brazil is a great example of biofuel production and consumption.” The country is currently the second largest producer and exporter of ethanol in the world.
The panelists presented the perspectives of regional policies on the biofuels market. The following participated in the discussion: Paulette Ommenvan, Global Climate Leader at DSM; Freya Burton, Head of Sustainability and People at Lanzatech; Eric van der Schans, Director of Environmental Management at the Port of Rotterdam; Larissa Rose, Director of Queensland Renewable Fuels Association; and Theodore Goumas, CEO of Exergia. The moderator was Gerard Ostheimer, WBCSD Senior Advisor for the below50.
Transport sector is crucial for Brazilian NDC
Implementing low-carbon solutions in the transport sector will be essential to meeting Brazil's NDC targets. Among the country's production sectors, transport was one of those that showed the highest growth rates in energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to the Analysis of the Evolution of GHG Emissions, carried out by the Climate Observatory.
According to the report, emissions from the sector increased from 84 million tons in 1990 to 204 million in 2012. A combination of factors led us to this scenario, among them the high dependence on fossil fuels and the predominance of road transport in the country. Learn more here.
