Brazil, the United States, China and the European Commission launched a joint initiative in New York on Friday to promote development of an international market for biofuels which are seen as a viable alternative to fossil fuels.
Joined by India and South Africa, they announced at a press conference here the launch of a mechanism to create a world market to spur production, distribution and use of biofuels, which can also help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
”Biofuels constitute a viable economic alternative for the immediate partial substitution of fossil fuels and the diversification of the world’s energy mix,” Brazilian Ambassador to the United States Antonio Patriota said as he formally announced the launch of the International Biofuels Forum.
”The introduction of biofuels is highly advantageous both for developing and developed countries,” he added.
”By working together we will be able to identify means and ways to help countries with agricultural productive potential to become major energy suppliers,” said US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon. ”This is a huge step forward in the development of a new international understanding of energy.”
Brazil and the United States together control roughly 75% of the world’s ethanol market, but countries such as China, India and South Africa have huge potential to develop their own biofuel production.
Brazil could produce enough ethanol to replace 10% of world gasoline demand in the next 20 years, according to a recently unveiled project.
The Brazilian project, developed with the participation of the government and state-owned oil giant Petrobas, would multiply by 15 times the country’s current production of ethanol from sugar cane.
The forum is to convene regular meetings over the coming year to pave the way for an international conference on biofuels in Brazil next year.
Participants are to advance coordination on priority issues and establish working groups on information exchange and standards and codes.
Underpinning Brazil’s success has been the mass-marketing since 2003 of hybrid-fuel cars, which consume either pure ethanol or a five-to-one mix of gasoline and ethanol. There are now more than 2,6-million such vehicles in the domestic market. ‒ Sapa-AFP