After signing the regulatory decree of the National Biofuel Policy (RenovaBio) on Wednesday night in Ribeirão Preto (SP), the president of the Republic, Michel Temer, pointed to the program as one of the most important acts carried out by his government. The signing took place during the Sugarcane, Sugar and Ethanol 2018/19 Opening Event organized by Santander and DATAGRO Consultoria.
“RenovaBio is, I would say, just another chapter in a broad modernization agenda. But among all the agendas, fiscal responsibility, social responsibility, I would say that, because of the enthusiasm I see … I think the RenovaBio, of all acts, will be one of the most important that this government has practiced, ” said Fear.
The law provides for the expansion of the use of biofuels in the country’s energy matrix, such as ethanol and biodiesel, stimulating the entire fuel production chain without imposing carbon taxes. RenovaBio sets mandatory annual targets for fuel distributors with the definition of mandatory percentages of biodiesel to be gradually added to diesel fuel and the percentage of anhydrous ethanol that will be added to gasoline production between 2022 and 2030.
In addition to the economic impact, the project is in line with the commitments made by Brazil in the Paris Agreement of the United Nations (UN) to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. In this regard, the law also creates instruments to stimulate the practice of combating greenhouse gas emissions, such as the Certification of Efficient Production of Biofuels and the decarbonization Credit, which may be issued by fuel distributors to prove compliance with the target individual.
The optimism in the country’s economy is growing, said the president, mentioning the record harvest recorded in 2017: “Brazil […] came back, it came back to a large extent thanks to the aid given by the agribusiness sector and of Brazilian agriculture “.
Mercosur and EU Agreement
Temer also said that in about a month the trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union will be closed. According to the president, there are still obstacles related to the automotive sector, but believes in a settlement soon. On Tuesday (13), in the plenary session of the Federation of Trade Associations of the State of São Paulo, the president had already advanced that the negotiations were advanced, but still without a deadline for the final outcome.
“We are almost formalizing, ending point, in the agreement between Mercosur and European Union. Which was catching on exactly the issue of the automotive sector. But after we met with the president [of Argentina, Mauricio] Macri in Chile on Sunday, we sent our negotiator to Brussels on Tuesday [13]. After 19 years [of negotiations] around of the EU-Mercosur agreement, we will do it in a month, a month and a half, no more than that, “said Temer.