The major U.S. subsidy supporting the ethanol industry looks set to go away. Which is good, since when you're exporting ethanol to Brazil, you are no longer an industry that needs support.
Brazil is a fascinating case, I've been learning. Around 40% of Brazilian energy use is renewables, which is pretty high for anyone, and really crazy high for a developing country. Of course, it's ethanol, which is a questionable renewable. Moreover, it's all moot, because 50% of Brazil's emissions come from deforestation alone.* Brazil, therefore, is the one developing country that's in the position of being a good way toward doing something serious about its energy emissions problem - and also one of the few for whom that doesn't mean nearly as much as it could.
* In case you're wondering, there isn't a direct connection between Brazilian deforestation and ethanol. Sugar cane is grown in a part of Brazil that was deforested long ago, and doesn't tend to be grown in the areas being deforested today. There may be some indirect land use effects, though - that is, crops being grown on currently deforested areas that would be grown in the area where sugar cane is being grown, if sugar cane weren't crowding it out.
No comments:
Post a Comment