The executive director of Unica, Eduardo Leão de Sousa, presented opportunities for cooperation between the Brazilian sugar and Asian sugar industry and Asian countries during the international seminar "Brazil and ASEAN", on Thursday (1st/12th), at the Itamaraty Palace, in Brasilia. The event brought together ambassadors and diplomats from Asian countries, private sector representatives and academics.

Focusing on renewable energy, the meeting was the first organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since Brazil was admitted as a Sector Dialogue Partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a status achieved in August this year.

"The economic weight and geopolitical centrality of Southeast Asia do not escape our foreign policy. Brazil wants to get even closer to ASEAN and understands the benefits that this process can provide to both sides," said Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos França.

Opportunities

The potential for cooperation in biofuels, such as ethanol, was treated in a panel mediated by Ambassador Piragibe dos Santos Tarragô, Brazil's special envoy to ASEAN. In addition to unica's executive director, Eduardo Leão de Sousa, thailand ambassador Saksee Phromyoth and ApexBrasil Market Intelligence Manager Igor Celeste participated.

"Ethanol production today is very concentrated in a few countries, and more than one hundred nations produce sugarcane and, with a small effort, can expand to ethanol production," said Unica's executive director. "We have a great potential for cooperation and we are willing to collaborate in what is possible with countries to promote a cleaner and more sustainable world," Said Eduardo Leão.

In this perspective, Brazil's consolidated experience, in almost 50 years with ethanol, presents a viable and efficient solution for one of the greatest global demands – climate crisis mitigation. Ethanol emits up to 90% less CO2 than gasoline. In the last two decades, its use in Brazil has prevented about 600 million tons of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere, contributing to the health of millions of people and the environment.

Alongside the contribution to reduce global warming, ethanol also provides the control of pollutant emissions, as the emblematic example of the city of São Paulo. The fourth most populous city in the world, São Paulo is one of the metropolises with the lowest level of air pollution. In 2021, the city ranked 1,779th on iqair's list, a platform that monitors and ranked the air quality of municipalities around the globe.

Another point highlighted was biofuel as an alternative to the challenge of diversifying energy sources, reducing dependence on fossils.

Ambassador Saksee Phromyoth of Thailand endorsed the potential for a partnership between Brazil and ASEAN countries in the bioenergy experiment, citing ethanol and green hydrogen. "Brazil is recognized worldwide for its renewable energy sources, agriculture and technology, including sugarcane ethanol. We have to look to the future from the opportunities to share this knowledge with ASEAN," he said.

Source: RPA news