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Eco‐efficiency, self‐sufficiency and sustainability in transport: The limits for Brazilian sugarcane ethanol policy
Author(s) -
Wells Peter,
Faro Thaisa
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
natural resources forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1477-8947
pISSN - 0165-0203
DOI - 10.1111/j.1477-8947.2010.01340.x
Subject(s) - sustainability , business , sustainable development , process (computing) , biofuel , renewable resource , private sector , natural resource economics , environmental economics , renewable energy , economics , economic growth , engineering , political science , ecology , computer science , waste management , electrical engineering , law , biology , operating system
Abstract This paper examines the historic development of the Brazilian sugarcane ethanol sector and the largely successful attempt to create a sustainable, renewable fuel for the transport sector. The policy that resulted from this process is an example of meeting the need for sustainable transport through the consideration of location‐specific characteristics and appropriate policy. The paper then questions the current and expected trajectory of the sugarcane ethanol sector with the focus on one key question: can sustainability be exported? In this analysis, the paper identifies new threats to the sustainability of Brazilian sugarcane ethanol and potential “opportunity costs” incurred in further development and internationalization of the sector. The paper concludes that exporting sugarcane ethanol may bring unanticipated deleterious consequences, which in turn means that both policy and theory need to be more precise about how sustainable transport is defined and bounded by time and space.