Biofuel contribution to mitigate fossil fuel CO2 emissions: Comparing sugar cane ethanol in Brazil with corn ethanol and discussing land use for food production and deforestation

This paper compares the use of sugar cane and corn for the production of ethanol, with a focus on global warming and the current international debate about land use competition for food and biofuel production. The indicators used to compare the products are CO2 emissions, energy consumption, sugar cane coproducts, and deforestation. The life cycle emission inventory as a methodological tool is taken into account. The sustainability of socioeconomic development and the developing countries’ need to overcome barriers form the background against which the Brazilian government energy plans are analyzed.

[1]  Suzana Kahn Ribeiro,et al.  Activities implemented jointly and the use of fuel alcohol in Brazil for abating CO2 emissions , 1998 .

[2]  Suzana Kahn Ribeiro,et al.  The Present, Past, and Future Contributions to Global Warming of CO2 Emissions from Fuels , 2001 .

[3]  L. Lamar,et al.  World Energy Statistics , 1994 .

[4]  S. Polasky,et al.  Land Clearing and the Biofuel Carbon Debt , 2008, Science.

[5]  L. Rosa,et al.  Historical CO(2) emission and concentrations due to land use change of croplands and pastures by country. , 2005, The Science of the total environment.

[6]  D. Lashof,et al.  Relative contributions of greenhouse gas emissions to global warming , 1990, Nature.

[7]  Keith A. Smith,et al.  N 2 O release from agro-biofuel production negates global warming reduction by replacing fossil fuels , 2007 .

[8]  Luiz Pinguelli Rosa,et al.  Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Hydroelectric Reservoirs in Tropical Regions , 2004 .

[9]  J. Seabra,et al.  Green house gases emissions in the production and use of ethanol from sugarcane in Brazil: the 2005/2006 averages and a prediction for 2020. , 2008 .

[10]  Equity, responsibility and climate change* , 2004 .

[11]  Vincent Mahieu,et al.  Well-to-wheels analysis of future automotive fuels and powertrains in the european context , 2004 .

[12]  Marcos S. P. Gomes,et al.  Bio-fuels production and the environmental indicators , 2009 .

[13]  Corbiniano Silva,et al.  Land use change sector contribution to the carbon historical emissions and the sustainability--Case study of the Brazilian Legal Amazon , 2009 .

[14]  M. M. S. D. Araújo,et al.  GHG historical contribution by sectors, sustainable development and equity , 2007 .

[15]  S. Polasky,et al.  Environmental, economic, and energetic costs and benefits of biodiesel and ethanol biofuels. , 2006, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[16]  Chris Campbell,et al.  The Coming Oil Crisis , 2004 .

[17]  S. K. Ribeiro,et al.  AVOIDING EMISSIONS OF CARBON DIOXIDE THROUGH THE USE OF FUELS DERIVED FROMSUGAR CANE , 1998 .

[18]  Suzana Kahn Ribeiro,et al.  Comments on the Brazilian Proposal and contributions to global temperature increase with different climate responses—CO2 emissions due to fossil fuels, CO2 emissions due to land use change , 2004 .