Energy Sources and Global Climate Change: The Brazilian Case

Abstract

If the world continues to follow a “business as usual” energy path, current projections of increased energy demand threaten a massive disruption of the global biosphere, as fossil fuels consumption is the primary cause of global warming. Climate change is a direct threat to sustainable development itself, especially in developing countries that are most vulnerable to its impacts. Within this context, the potential role of renewable energy (RE) is twofold: cutting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the industrialized world and expanding energy supply to the world's poor while curbing the increase of GHG emissions from developing countries. In fact, an adequate supply of RE is an important key to sustainable economic, environmental, and social development for many countries. The country of Brazil is reviewed as a particularly illustrative example of this point, thanks to the large-scale use of hydropower and sugarcane products (ethanol and bagasse) and to a huge RE potential yet to be tapped.

Keywords:

• energy sources
• global climate change
• greenhouse gas emissions
• renewable energy and sustainable development

Acknowledgments

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the authors.

Notes

^a Part of the wood comes from deforestation and is not renewable.

^b Others includes nuclear, new renewable (biomass, SHPs and aeolian) and non-rewable energy.

^a The official publication, National Energy Balance, presents the data to the installed capacity in an aggregated and/or general way, i.e., showing only data to hydro, nuclear, and thermopower. So, it's impossible to see, for example, data to small scale hydroelectric stations, biomass generation or aeolian energy. In such context, the authors decide to use data presented by an official representative of the Ministry of Mines and Energy, Mr. André Ramon (assessor of the Executive Secretary of the MME, at that time, Mr. Maurício Tolmasquim) in the workshop “Development and Climate: Sustainable Expansion of Access to Electricity in Brazil,” placed in the city of Rio de Janeiro, on May 19, 2003.

^b 57% from the sugar and alcohol industry. (Source: Ramon, 2003.)

¹ Brazilian population is around 178.7 million (in 2004, according World Bank Group, 2005).

² A fact related with the discovery of new relevant Brazilian offshore resources (especially in “Campos Basin,” on the coast of Rio de Janeiro's state).

³ “Biomass” considered as sustainable biomass: agricultural and forest residues, solid waste, and biofuels (Goldemberg and Coelho, 2003).

⁴ Especially grid extension and diesel generators.