Sustainability of Brazilian bioethanol

Aug 2006

The main objectives and scope of the study are:
1. Determination of Dutch sustainability demands for bio-ethanol, including stakeholder consultation in the Netherlands (NGO’s, industry).
2. Assessment of the current ecological, economic and social impacts of ethanol production based on sugar cane in Brazil. A comparison is made of Brazilian social, economic and ecological boundary conditions, legislature and guidelines with Dutch standards. On which aspects Brazilian agricultural practices are already in agreement with Dutch sustainability criteria, and on which aspects improvements are potentially necessary is assessed. Also, it is attempted to judge in how far the identified relevant criteria are verifiable in practice.
The study focuses on the impacts of current sugar cane based ethanol production in Brazil, as little sustainability issues are expected for the long-distance transport of ethanol. The study focuses especially on the situation in the São Paulo state area, as the vast majority of ethanol is produced here, but also to some extent on the south-west and central areas, which are the most likely areas for further ethanol production. This work involved mainly literature study, aimed at the assessment of existing practices in sugar cane agricultural sector and processing industry and local data collection by the Brazilian project partners. The study mainly focuses on the current situation in Brazil, but also covers expected future land-use changes directly or indirectly caused by sugar cane.
3. 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.

The report organizes as follows: chapter 2 provides an overview of current developments in the Netherlands regarding sustainability criteria in the Netherlands, including the recent work of the commission DPB, general viewpoints of a broad range of Dutch stakeholders towards sustainability criteria, and specific views on sustainability of key stakeholders.
Next, in Chapter 3 the current sustainability of the sugar cane and ethanol production process is investigated, including current and potential future impacts, available legislation and implications for certification.
In chapter 4, the additional costs coupled to meeting various sustainability criteria are estimated.
Consequently, in chapter 5, the Brazilian situation is compared to the Dutch sustainability demands, while in chapter six deals with general discussion, conclusions and recommendations for further research.

By: E. Smeets, M. Junginger, A. Faaij, A. Walter, P. Dolzan

 
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