Sustainability of Brazilian bio-ethanol

Dolzan, Paulo B.
Walter, Arnaldo
Faaij, André
Junginger, Martin
Smeets, Edward

2006

90-8672-012-9

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The main objective of this report was a comparison of Dutch sustainability criteria and the current Brazilian practice, and quantification of the consequences for ethanol production in terms of production method and production costs if these sustainability criteria are applied. To this end, the Dutch sustainability demands for bio-ethanol were investigated, including stakeholder consultation in the Netherlands (NGO’s, industry), and an extensive assessment of the current ecological, economic and social impacts of ethanol production based on sugar cane in Brazil was carried out. While the current study contains many different types of uncertainties, no prohibitive reasons where identified why ethanol from São Paulo principally could not meet the Dutch sustainability standards set for 2007. In many impact categories, Brazilian ethanol from sugar cane scores average to (very) positive. For a number of other criteria, problems are identified, but it also appears that these may differ strongly between the individual plants. Furthermore, for most of these issues, measures can be identified to improve performance (when needed). For the future and the whole of Brazil, too many uncertainties remain to determine whether also additional criteria from 2011 onwards can be met. First of all, it is as yet unclear how additional land use for sugar cane may cause indirect / induced land-use, and how large the actual impacts will be on land use, biodiversity etc. Second, it is also uncertain whether and how the Dutch sustainability criteria will deal with these indirect impacts, as these criteria are not yet clearly defined. Recommendations for further research include amongst others additional local data collection (e.g. on occurrence of child labour), development of new methodologies, e.g. on carbon soil, biodiversity, food security and land use dynamics, and exploring the possibilities and requirements of a certification system for sustainable ethanol. [Extractos: Executive summary]

Bioetanol; Brasil; Sostenibilidad;