Brazil needs more invest to sustainable energy model
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Brazil needs more public sector investment and coordinated actions in strengthening the integration between energy and environment to maintain a sustainable energy model, according to a study released Tuesday.
Brazil, starting the search for alternative energy four decades ago, has long boasted a successful biofuel program, great hydropower potential and a nuclear electricity production capacity.
However, the country's economic growth in the coming years will require more energy, posing a new challenge for the authorities to maintain a clean energy model, according to the study "Environmental Sustainability in Brazil: biodiversity, economics and human welfare".
The projected energy consumption and supply in Brazil for 2030 indicate the country's reliance on fossil fuels will increase, the study said.
Brazil has the potential to adopt an energy model with even less emissions of greenhouse and atmospheric pollutants, but its realization depends on the joint efforts of the public and private sectors under the coordination of the government, the study released by the Institute of Applied Economic Research (IPEA) said.
Gesmar Rosa Santos, a researcher with the IPEA, suggested public institutions like the state-owned Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) spearhead the efforts to promote sustainability, providing funds for a new pattern of energy consumption and production.
Albino Alvarez, one of the study's authors, said that investments in renewable energy can promote trade relations with other countries as well.
"There is a tendency that rich countries will demand less environmental impact in the manufacturing process to import goods," he said.
Brazil has been considered as a role model in the use of environmentally sustainable energy. According to the latest data, 45.9 percent of current Brazilian energy consumption is renewable energy.
In addition, the country's annual average consumption of non-renewable energy is 1.34 tons of oil equivalent (toe) per capita, lower than the world average of 1.78 tons per capita.
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