José Goldemberg

• University of São Paulo

The global transport sector is the second largest energy consumer and strongly relies on fossil fuels. Efforts for reducing GHG emissions on this sector depend on energy efficiency improvement and the use of renewable fuels and electrification. All these technologies are commercially available and each one faces some barriers to overcame environmen...

The production of ethanol from sugarcane in Brazil has reached 27 billion liters – 27% of the world’s total biofuel engenderment. The remaining ethanol production is from corn in the United States, wheat and sugar beet in the European Union, and cassava in Vietnam and Thailand. The Environmental Protection Agency of the United States considers etha...

The structure of the world’s energy supply has changed considerably in the last two centuries: biomass the dominant source of energy up to 1850 has been replaced successively by coal, then oil and then natural gas. Nuclear energy and hydroelectricity played a minor role. Technological changes and market forces were the drivers of such evolution. Th...

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2017 Robert A. Meyers Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology 10.1007/978-1-4939-2493-6_312-4 Bioethanol from Sugar: The Brazilian Experience José Goldemberg1 , Suani Teixeira Coelho2 , Patricia Guardabassi2 and Plinio Mário Nastari3 (1)Institute of Energy and Environment, University of São...

In Brazil, there are almost ten million people relying on traditional use of biomass for cooking, which correspond to about five percent of the country's population. The vast majority lives in poor municipalities away from urban centers. The replacement of fuelwood for LPG is the result of an intense urbanization process and governmental interventi...

On p. 5 of the published article, in the last paragraph and in the Fig. 9 caption, “9000 kWh/L” should be “9 kWh/L”. An additional correction is needed in the Fig. 9 caption, wherein “5000 kWh/L” should be “5 kWh/L”.

The article analyzes the Brazilian and Argentine experience in nuclear non-proliferation since the 1991 establishment of a regional binational safeguards agency, known as the Brazilian–Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC). After these two countries signed their Bilateral Agreement, considerable positive change oc...

Biomass contributes a significant share to the domestic energy supply in Brazil. The percentage of renewables in the Brazilian energy mix is one of the highest in the world as a result of the contribution of hydropower and biomass. The challenge now is to keep this share at a high level while it is being threatened by the decrease in hydropower pro...

Concerns about sustainable development are not a recent phenomenon. Societal problem-solving efforts within this realm have focused on concrete problems such as the preservation of fisheries, forests and national reserves. 'The Politics of Sustainability' has been discussed extensively in literature, particularly after the publication of the Brundt...

Englund et al (2015 Environ. Res. Lett. 10 044002) have recently analyzed biodiesel production from oil palm plantations as one possible way to mitigate climate change while providing cost effective results. They show that data for detailed quantification of biological carbon sequestration is available allowing a high confidence evaluation of posit...

Burden sharing in the actions needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has proved so far to be the most intractable problem in the implementation of the Climate Convention and the Kyoto Protocol. We analyzed the contribution of non-Annex I countries to the GHG emissions in the period 1850-2010 to assess their relative contribution to total GHG emi...

Our understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with bioenergy production has strongly expanded since a previous SCOPE report on biofuels in 2009. Concerns about escalating food prices and negative environmental effects associated with indirect land use change have significantly abated; the promise of lignocellulosic fuels has begu...

Em preparação para a COP 21 em Paris, a COP 20 realizada em Lima em 2014 decidiu que todos os países apresentariam suas contribuições (INDC – Intended National Determined Contributions ), que deverão constituir a base para as decisões a serem tomadas em Paris. A União Europeia e os Estados Unidos apresentaram propostas para reduções significativas...

Universal access to electricity and LPG in Brazil has been pursued over several decades and under different governments with successful results. In 1960 less than 40% of households had access to electricity and only 18% used LPG; by 2010 these percentages had risen to 98.7% and 98% respectively. Analyzing the country's experience, we distinguish th...

The Amazon watershed harbors a megadiversity of terrestrial and aquatic plants and animals. Mechanisms that sustain this biodiversity are the water level fluctuations the fluvial dynamics and the intense gene flux due to permanent integration of climatological, geomorphological and biological components of the system. The construction of hydroelect...

There are great perspectives to the development of second-generation technologies to biofuels production, nevertheless its production in large scale is depending on a technological breakthrough to become feasible. The production of ethanol from sugarcane based on first generation technology has evolved in the last decades; however gains of producti...

The 2013 renewable energy policy mandates adopted in twenty-seven countries will increase the need for liquid biofuels.To achieve this, ethanol produced from corn and sugarcane will need to increase from 80 to approximately 200 billion l in 2021.This could be achieved by increasing the productivity of raw material per hectare, expansion of land int...

In Brazil, all municipalities are responsible for collection and disposal of urban solid waste. They have been facing problems due to the increased amount generated and the concentration of population in urban centers, in addition to the ban, starting 2014, and the provision in landfill (most widely used option) of any waste that is capable of reus...

This study has focused on the Brazilian experience in increasing energy access, mainly of the low-income urban population, identifying and analysing key challenges and policies to improve energy services and to alleviate poverty, while enhancing environmental protection and the efficiency in the use of energy. Within this study, three municipalitie...

A large share of Brazil's current investments is concentrated in the development of petroleum resources in new frontiers. Perspectives for large offshore pre-salt fields are particularly good. However, challenges are also huge. On one hand, pre-salt resources development will draw vast amounts of economic and human resources and pose significant ma...

Renewable energy sources represent approximately 13% of primary energy supply, 2.3% in the form of modern biomass (approximately the same fraction produced from nuclear and hydroelectricity). In Africa 65% of the population still relies on traditional biomass for cooking, reaching in some countries 94%. In Asia it represents 54% of all consumption,...

Energy access has been singled out by the AGECC in 2010 as one of the important problems to be tackled in the next few decades in a world where 1.3 billion people do not have access to electricity and 2.7 use primitive fuels – mainly fuel wood – for cooking and heating.To solve such problems, innumerous small scale projects have been implemented ar...

In an editorial of a recent issue of a known academic journal, Prof. Hartmut Michel affirmed that “…the production of biofuels constitutes an extremely inefficient land use… We should not grow plants for biofuel production.”, after comparing the area occupied with plants for bioenergy production with the one required for photovoltaic cells to suppl...

The perspective by Haberl et al (2013 Environ. Res. Lett. 8 031004) entitled ‘Bioenergy: how much can we expect for 2050?’ is timely and valuable. It deals with an important subject since contrasting views on the subject make it very difficult for policy makers to adopt policies that would allow ‘production and consumption of energy at sustainable...

The world's primary energy consumption in the last 40 years has been increasing at 2.2%/year while GDP growth has been 3.4%/years over the same period. The decline of the energy intensity (I=E/GDP) has been, therefore, of 1.2%/year. In order to reduce the world's consumption growth proposal have been made to reduce the world's energy intensity by 4...

Presently, ethanol from sugarcane replaces approximately 50% of the gasoline that would be used in Brazil if such an option did not exist. In some aspects, ethanol may represent a better fuel than gasoline and to a great extent a renewable fuel contributing little to greenhouse gas emissions in contrast with fossil-derived fuels. Production of etha...

The need to promote significant changes in the production and use of energy in the direction of cleaner fuels and greater energy efficiency provide opportunities to reduce this gap of energy consumption indices between the rich and poor, both in developing and developed countries. Wide disparities in the access and consumption levels of modern fuel...

The historical responsibility of countries listed in the Annex I of the Convention on Climate Change has been used extensively as a justification for the lack of action of countries not included in Annex I to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. We analyzed the contribution of non-Annex I countries to the CO2 emissions in the period 1850 - 2006 t...

Since the dawn of civilization until the middle of the nineteenth century, biomass was the world’s dominant source of energy and its consumption grew from approximately 50 million tons of oil equivalent in the beginning of the Christian era to 1,000 tons of oil equivalent today (a 20-fold increase). In this period, biomass has supplied the needs of...

More than two decades after the Chernobyl accident, the world was experiencing a nuclear renaissance when an earthquake followed by a tsunami, both of uncommon proportions, led to major releases of radiation at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear central. Many countries are now reevaluating decisions to expand their nuclear parks, a change of course mot...

Energy intensity of the total primary energy supply (TPES), total final energy consumption (TFC) and LOSSES in the conversion from TPES to TFC were analyzed for the World, OECD and Rest of the World (ROW) countries. LOSSES increased significantly for all groups of countries due to the increase of electricity production from coal in the period studi...

The neutron yield from photo-reactions in nine elements has been measured as a function of the maximum energy of the University of Saskatchewan Betatron. Cross sections are given for each of the reactions as calculated from these data. The integrated cross sections are compared with theoretical sum-rule predictions of Levinger and Bethe and good ag...

The state of São Paulo, the most populous state in Brazil with 40 million people, is leading the way in Brazilian environmental policies. This article discusses the implications this has particularly for climate change policies. Located in the southeast part of the country, far from the Amazon rainforest, São Paulo state has adopted policies and ac...

“Decarbonizing” the world’s energy matrix is the strategy being implemented by most countries to reduce CO2 emissions and thus contribute to achieve the ultimate objectives of the Climate Convention. The evolution of the carbon intensity (Ic=CO2/GDP) in the period 1990–2007 was encouraging but not sufficient to reduce the growth of carbon emission....

Despite contrary evidence, biofuels are blamed for tropical forests' destruction and commodities' rising prices. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Ethanol production from sugarcane, mainly in Brazil, on the basis of first-generation technology (22.5 billion liters, in 2007/2008 season, in 3.4 million hectares) replaces 1% of the gasoline used in the world today and is highly competitive in economic terms with ethanol produced from other crops in the USA and Europe. In this paper we discuss th...

This article was submitted without an abstract, please refer to the full-text PDF file.

This article was submitted without an abstract, please refer to the full-text PDF file.

Recently a number of objections have been raised against the use of ethanol produced from agricultural products such as maize, sugarcane, wheat or sugar beets as a replacement for gasoline, despite some of their advantages such as being cleaner and to some extent renewable. We address these objections in this paper. Topics discussed include the “co...

Biomass was the dominating source of energy for human activities until the middle 19th century, when coal, oil, gas and other energy sources became increasingly important but it still represents ca. 10% of the worldwide energy supply. The major part of biomass for energy is still "traditional biomass" used as wood and coal extracted from native for...

The recent global financial crisis brings about effects such as a reduction in the economic activity and consequently in energy consumption. This may be an important opportunity to reorganize the energy system under more solid and sustainable foundations: efficiency, higher share of renewables and decentralized energy production. Brazil and other d...

Biomass was the dominating source of energy for human activities until the middle 19th century, when coal, oil, gas and other energy sources became increasingly important but it still represents ca. 10% of the worldwide energy supply. The major part of biomass for energy is still "traditional biomass" used as wood and coal extracted from native for...

Last May's passage of the 2008 Farm Bill raises the stakes for biofuel sustainability: A substantial subsidy for the production of cellulosic ethanol starts the United States again down a path with uncertain environmental consequences. This time, however, the subsidy is for both the refiners ($1.01 per gallon) and the growers ($45 per ton of biomas...

The rapid expansion of ethanol production from sugarcane in Brazil has raised a number of questions regarding its negative consequences and sustainability. Positive impacts are the elimination of lead compounds from gasoline and the reduction of noxious emissions. There is also the reduction of CO2 emissions, since sugarcane ethanol requires only a...

Ethanol is a biofuel that is used as a replacement for approximately 3% of the fossil-based gasoline consumed in the world today. Most of this biofuel is produced from sugarcane in Brazil and corn in the United States. We present here the rationale for the ethanol program in Brazil, its present 'status' and its perspectives. The environmental benef...

RESumo A madeira é fonte importante de energia para o Brasil, representa 12,9% da oferta total de energia, a mesma participação que a energia hídrica e a energia proveniente de cana-de-açúcar. Embora o consumo de madeira viesse caindo até meados dos anos 90, a partir 1998 o consumo de com-bustíveis de madeira começou a crescer, impulsionado pelo au...

To developing nations, the new arguments for nuclear power are far from compelling

Energy production and use present environmental impacts, but the present consumption patterns can be improved through a more efficient use of energy and a shift from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy. Due to hydroelectricity and bioethanol, Brazil still has a comfortable position compared to the rest of the world. Self-sufficient in oil,...

A produção e o consumo de energia são ambientalmente impactantes, mas os padrões atuais de consumo podem ser melhorados, estimulando o uso mais eficiente de energia e transição de fontes de energia fósseis para fontes renováveis. Graças à hidreletricidade, ao etanol e aos ainda baixos índices relativos de consumo energético, o Brasil tem uma posiçã...

Renewable energy is one of the most efficient ways to achieve sustainable development. Increasing its share in the world matrix will help prolong the existence of fossil fuel reserves, address the threats posed by climate change, and enable better security of the energy supply on a global scale. Most of the “new renewable energy sources” are still...

The world's energy system is at least a 1.5 trillion dollars market dominated by fossil fuels, where small changes can have a large influence on efforts to reach sustainability. Renewable energy sources are key to achieving this goal. Excluding traditional biomass, in 2001 renewables represented 4.4% of primary energy consumption, unevenly distribu...

The number of automobiles in the world has been growing fast and today requires one quarter of the global petroleum consumption. This problem requires adequate solutions, one of which Brazil has achieved with the Sugarcane Ethanol Program. This paper presents the history of this program, from its launch in the 1970s to the today's condition of full...

Ethanol derived from sugarcane is an efficient and renewable biofuel that appears as a solution to the problems of rural development, diversification of energy sources, and fossil fuel-saving, as well as contributing to the reduction of local pollutants from vehicle exhausts and net reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. During the 30 years...

ENERGIA é um ingrediente essencial para a vida na sociedade moderna. A ampliação da infra-estrututa energética do Brasil, tanto na sua produção como no consumo exigirá grandes investimentos. Daí a necessidade da presença do Governo no planejamento das atividades energéticas, que são geralmente implementados pela iniciativa privada. Esta presença é...

ENERGIA é um ingrediente essencial para a vida na sociedade moderna. A ampliação da infra-estrututa energética do Brasil, tanto na sua produção como no consumo exigirá grandes investimentos. Daí a necessidade da presença do Governo no planejamento das atividades energéticas, que são geralmente implementados pela iniciativa privada. Esta presença é...

This paper outlines the Brazilian experience with gas vehicles, identifies the current environmental problem faced by the aftermarket conversions and proposes alternatives that would help revert the present scenario, in order to profit, not only from the economic advantages the use of gas entails, but also the environmental ones. The Brazilian case...

In 1993, the Brazilian electricity sector initiated a restructuring process by unbundling the generation, transmission, and distribution components of the existing companies. This ultimately led to the privatization of most distribution assets and some of the generation assets. However, little attention was paid in the process to the expansion of s...

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a fossil fuel and at the same time an important means to achieve sustainable development. As in many developing countries, this gas is in Brazil the most common first substitute for fuelwood in homes, combating deforestation and causing less hazardous emissions to the atmosphere. It can reach isolated areas without...

This article calls for engaging the public and private sectors of developing and industrialized coun-tries in a global clean cooking fuel initiative (GCCFI) to bring about a worldwide shift to clean fluid fuels for cooking and heating in 10-15 years' time --with an emphasis on providing clean fuel to the poorest households. This initiative is cruci...

Economic competitiveness is a very frequent argument against renewable energy (RE). This paper demonstrates, through the Brazilian experience with ethanol, that economies of scale and technological advances lead to increased competitiveness of this renewable alternative, reducing the gap with conventional fossil fuels.

The growing interest in the establishment of a minimum share of renewable sources in the world energy matrix, after the Johannesburg's World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD), has raised the question about the means for such new technologies to compete with the traditional ones. The Brazilian experience in the last 25 years with ethanol as...

Renewable energy is basic to reduce poverty and to allow sustainable development. However, the concept of renewable energy must be carefully established, particularly in the case of biomass. This paper analyses the sustainability of biomass, comparing the so-called “traditional” and “modern” biomass, and discusses the need for statistical informati...

The stage of development reached by Brazil is typical of a number of developing countries. The lack of abundant fossil fuels, the abundance of land and forests, a highly developed urban sector, a skewed income distribution, and a mounting external debt are common characteristics of many Latin-American and some African and Southeast Asian countries....