South American biofuel producers demand measures for investments

Associations of biofuel producers from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Paraguay and Uruguay launched a manifesto this Thursday (27), demanding the implementation of measures to advance investments in the sector in the region, as an energy transition strategy.

In the document “Manifesto in Defense of Biofuels”, the signatory entities highlighted the importance of defining regulatory frameworks that guarantee investments and scientific and technological research on biofuels, aiming at fulfilling the commitments assumed for decarbonization in the Paris Agreement.

The sector also defends the elaboration of “clear roadmaps” and long-term energy plans, capable of attracting the confidence of investors, in addition to a regional energy transition plan aimed at project financing.

“Biofuels offer an opportunity for a true energy transition, as well as for the development of co-products that find their origin in agriculture and not in geology, promoting integral decarbonization and increasing the region’s energy independence”, said the associations.

The manifesto comes at a time when the biodiesel industry in Brazil awaits the definition by the federal government of the proportion of biofuel in diesel, with the potential to increase the demand for soy for this purpose by 51% if the schedule of the Brazilian program of a mixture of 15% for most of 2023. This year, the government decided to lower the mix to 10%, citing raw material pricing issues.

The document is signed by the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (Abiove), the Association of Biofuel Producers of Brazil (Aprobio) and the Union of the Sugarcane and Bioenergy Industry (Unica), National Union of Corn Ethanol ( Unem), in addition to entities from neighboring countries.

(By Rafaella Barros)