How green is sugarcane ethanol?

Marcelo Sant'Anna

No 807, FGV EPGE Economics Working Papers (Ensaios Economicos da EPGE) from EPGE Brazilian School of Economics and Finance - FGV EPGE (Brazil)

Abstract: Biofuels offer one approach for reducing carbon emissions in transportation. However, the agricultural expansion needed to produce biofuels may endanger tropical forests. I use a dynamic model of land use to disentangle the roles played by agricultural expansion and yield increases in the supply of sugarcane ethanol in Brazil. The model is estimated using remote sensing (satellite) information of sugarcane activities. Estimates imply that, at the margin, 92% of new ethanol comes from increases in area and only 8% from increases in yield. Direct deforestation accounts for 12% of area expansion. I further assess carbon emissions and deforestation implications from ethanol policies.

Date: 2019-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-big and nep-ene
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Journal Article: How Green Is Sugarcane Ethanol? (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:fgv:epgewp:807

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