Produced by CEBDS, the document shows examples of success in the use of clean energies and points that need to be overcome
Brazil's territorial extension, climate conditions and experience with various renewable energy sources represent important advantages for the country when it comes to decarbonizing the energy sector. Given this scenario, the CEBDS (Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development), in partnership with the PSR consultancy, developed a study to show in practice how companies from various sectors can accelerate their energy transition process.
O “Roadmap: The Paths of the Brazilian Business Sector in the National Energy Transition”, launched this Thursday, May 18, presents a series of solutions that companies associated with CEBDS are already adopting to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, analyzing opportunities and challenges.
The survey included interviews with representatives of 22 large companies from different sectors of the economy operating in Brazil, such as mining, beverages and food, cement, steel, air transport, environmental management, energy and the automotive industry.
The solutions presented combine the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and business opportunities, and range from technologies that are already available that can be implemented in different sectors to promising solutions for activities in which decarbonization proves to be a greater challenge. The report delves deeper into the possibilities and challenges for the chemical, cement, oil & gas and steel industries. In all cases, there are several solutions that could be applied in Brazil.
The study also highlights that Brazil's ability to produce low-carbon energy could bring a great comparative advantage: just as in the past cheap energy made Brazil a major exporter of aluminum and other industries that use large amounts of energy, Brazil can take advantage of its ability to expand renewable sources to export products that should be in strong demand globally, such as green hydrogen and synthetic fuels, in addition to decarbonizing sectors of its economy through direct electrification, as in the case of industry and transport.
Other points highlighted are the search by companies for greater operational efficiency as a way to reduce direct emissions from their operations (Scope 1), indirect emissions, related to the purchase of electricity (Scope 2) and the imposition of requirements of good socio-environmental practices to the supply chain to reduce Scope 3 emissions. The latter is the most challenging point, as it involves changes in the processes of each company's suppliers.
“A wide expansion of renewable sources, especially solar and wind, is technically feasible and economically desirable, as it is the most economical option for the electricity consumer. A strategic aspect is the complementarity between wind energy – which increases at night – and solar energy, which allows shared use of transmission facilities. Aware of the Brazilian potential for the expansion of renewable sources in the electricity sector, several companies are looking for new projects”, analyzes Viviane Romeiro, director of Climate, Energy and Sustainable Finance at CEBDS.
Finally, the study seeks to point out the main barriers and challenges to be overcome for the energy transition. One of the points to be highlighted is that, in many cases, Brazil will need to design the regulation and mechanisms to enable the start of specific markets, as in the case of offshore wind.
The work had the participation of the following companies: Ambev, Ambipar, Anglo American, Azul, Bamin, Be8 (formerly BSBIOS), Braskem, CBA, Elera Renováveis, Eletrobras, Energisa, Eneva, FS Bioenergia, Future Carbon Group, Neoenergia, Norte Energia , Schneider Electric, Shell, Siemens Energy, Solví, Toyota and Votorantim Cimentos.
