Bitter sweet: How sustainable is bio-ethanol production in Brazil?

Hossein Azadi, Sanne de Jong, Ben Derudder, Philippe De Maeyer and Frank Witlox

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2012, vol. 16, issue 6, 3599-3603

Abstract: While biofuels have currently been regarded as a good alternative for fossil fuels, there remain many debates on their impacts on human and environment. This paper tried to shed light on bio-ethanol in Brazil as one of the main producers and exporters in the world. The main question was to understand “how sustainable is bio-ethanol production in Brazil?” To answer, the political motives of producing bio-ethanol followed by its ecological and socio-economic impacts were discussed. The paper concluded that although bio-ethanol production in Brazil seems environmentally friendly, it might socio-economically be hazardous.

Keywords: Bio-ethanol; Biofuels; Sugarcane; Food security; Land use change; Sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2012.03.015

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