by Claire Stam (EURACTIV.com) The Brazilian Senate is considering lifting a ban on sugarcane production for ethanol fuel in the Amazon. The plan, supported by the country’s president, has sparked protests from environmentalists and the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association, UNICA.
The decision is due by 6 April and UNICA fears the bill – if adopted – would have a negative impact on the industry’s image.
“By changing the zoning guidelines, Bill 626/2011 could bring about a strong pressure for deforestation in the Amazon biome,” UNICA said in a statement.
“The Brazilian biofuels and sugar industry does not support deforestation. Bill 626/2011 can tarnish its reputation and jeopardize the markets already conquered and the value of Brazilian products,” it added.
Sugarcane zoning was developed specifically as a response to European threats to impose non-tariff barriers to Brazilian exports of bio-ethanol.
UNICA argued that lifting the ban would send the wrong message to its European and international customers, that Brazil is not committed to upholding established environmental safeguards, thus leading to business uncertainty.
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Five former environment ministers also criticised the debated bill.
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A group of 59 NGOs published an open letter on 2 April, calling for the bill to be banished “to its only acceptable resting place: the archive”.
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But President Michel Temer seems determined to support the bill, first presented in 2011 by Senator Flexa Ribeiro from the centre-right Brazilian Social Democratic party, who represents the Amazon state of Pará, a rural caucus.
The Brazilian press quoted Flexa Ribeiroas as saying that the bill will bring economic growth to economically weak areas. READ MORE
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