IDB Updates Its Biofuels Scorecard
Friday, September 11th, 2009From the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): IDB releases new version of Biofuels Sustainability Scorecard Update incorporates feedback from five regional consultations and addresses concerns regarding food security, indigenous peoples and biodiversity preservation The Inter-American Development Bank has released a new version of its Biofuels Sustainability Scorecard, which will enable users to better anticipate the impacts […]
Time for a New Biodiesel Policy in Brazil?
Friday, July 17th, 2009Luiz Prado says it’s time for Brazil to adopt a “serious” national policy on biodiesel. I think he has a point. Brazil has had a biodiesel policy — er, make that a biodiesel program — since 2003. It has a number of elements, but the lynchpins are a blending mandate (currently set at B4), and […]
Vale Invests Heavily in Biodiesel from Palm Oil
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009Desde Vale: Vale vai investir na produção de biodiesel Consórcio será o maior produtor de óleo de palma das Américas A Vale acaba de dar mais um passo em busca de uma matriz energética mais sustentável. A empresa anuncia hoje (24/06) o consórcio com a Biopalma da Amazônia S.A para produzir óleo de palma, matéria-prima […]
Brazil Invests in International Research Cooperation on Second Generation Biofuels
Friday, May 29th, 2009Brazil will invest R$11.6 million (about US$ million at current exchange rates) in international research cooperation regarding second-generation biofuels with the 27 member states and the many associate states of the European Union (EU). A request for proposals from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) calls for projects that develop new production […]
IDB Funds Coal-Fired Power Plants in Brazil / O BID vai financiar usinas termelétricas a carvão no Brasil
Friday, March 20th, 2009From the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB): Brazil expands energy supply in Northeastern region with IDB financing Innovative agreement will partially offset CO2 emissions by promoting renewable energy projects and greenhouse gas reduction research Brazil will add 1,080 megawatts (MW) of electric power in the Northeastern states of Ceará and Maranhão with the construction of two […]
Not Always Easy Exporting Ethanol
Saturday, February 21st, 2009To hear some biofuel critics tell it, ethanol from sugarcane is being produced in Brazil without regard to its environmental impacts, and certification requirements in export markets such as Europe do not influence such behavior. Hearing of cases such as the one below gives me doubts about such charges. The sugar and alcohol producers in […]
ECLAC on Elements for Formulating Public Policy on Biofuels
Thursday, February 5th, 2009The biofuel programs in the developed countries — particularly those in the US and the European Union (EU) — represent a series of opportunities, challenges and risks for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). If biofuel production is to create economic growth in LAC nations without jeopardizing its natural capital and social […]
Now Renewables Have Their Own International Agency
Saturday, January 31st, 2009The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) was created at a founding conference in Bonn, Germany, this week, followed the next day by a short working session of the preparatory commission charged with getting it up-and-running. The brainchild of renewable advocate Germany, with strong backing from Denmark and Spain, IRENA is intended to raise the profile […]
What the Other Guy Blogs About: Biofuel from Coffee
Saturday, January 24th, 2009When it was first reported that biofuel could be made from coffee oil, I read as many press reports and blog pieces on it as I could find, because the concept intrigued me. Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), after all, is a major coffee growing region. And no, I am not just referring to […]
Brazil Sets New Records for Ethanol and Biodiesel
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009The Brazilian government reports that its consumption and exports of ethanol set new records in 2008, as did the consumption and production of biodiesel. According to figures released by the Renewable Fuels Department of the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), Brazil produced 24.5 billion liters of ethanol in 2008, and exported 5.16 billion. The […]
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