|
|
ENERGY-SOUTH AMERICA: Leaders Overcome Impasse on Ethanol
By Humberto Márquez
ISLA DE MARGARITA, Venezuela, Apr 17 (IPS) - The controversy over whether
to put the accent on fossil fuels or biofuels was overcome by the
presidents in the first South American energy summit with the assertion
that the answer depends on each country's specific circumstances, and that
the different national policies are complementary to each other, not
contradictory.
The ministers who drafted the final document for the meeting on Venezuela's
Margarita Island in the Caribbean "established something that is
fundamental: that there is no opposition between biofuels and fossil
fuels, but rather that there are different national circumstances and
experiences, and that they are complementary," Marco Aurelio García,
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's foreign affairs adviser,
told journalists.
Over the last few weeks, Lula and host President Hugo Chávez were at the
centre of a heated debate on the pros and cons of ethanol. Brazil produces
17.3 billion litres a year of the biofuel from sugar cane - nearly as
much as the United States produces from corn.
The rising interest in biofuels is occurring in a context of soaring oil
prices and scientific reports that the burning of fossil fuels is the main
culprit in global warming.
Washington and Brasilia agreed last month to foster the development of a
large global market for ethanol, which in the case of Brazil will mean a
more than ten-fold increase in its current output within the next decade,
while other countries in Latin America as well as African nations would
dedicate large extensions of land to growing crops for biofuel.
When Lula signed the accord with U.S. President George W. Bush, Cuban
leader Fidel Castro complained about the "internationalisation of
genocide" that he said was implicit in the growing of crops for producing
fuel instead of food for the hundreds of millions of hungry people in the
world.
Chávez, whose government had agreed with Cuba and Brazil to dedicate
270,000 hectares to producing sugar cane for ethanol, underwent an
apparent change of heart after his close ally Castro criticised the
large-scale production of biofuels.
Venezuela currently imports nearly 30,000 barrels (4.7 million litres) of
ethanol a day to mix with gasoline.
The Venezuelan leader lashed out at "the madness of producing food, not
for people but for rich people's cars," and said prior to the summit that
Latin America should stop worrying about guarantees of energy supplies,
because Venezuela would put at the region's disposal all of the oil and
gas that will be needed over the next 100 years.
But most countries in the region have welcomed the plans to produce crops
for biofuel. Argentina is moving ahead with its plans to produce
biodiesel, Uruguay and Chile have expressed great interest, Colombia has
reached a deal with the United States to encourage the industry, and
Ecuador has made a similar deal with Brazil.
Before heading to the summit in Venezuela, Lula said he did not
"understand yet what is the technical or scientific basis for the
criticism" voiced by the governments in Caracas and Havana, which invoked
"ethical and environmental" reasons.
Chávez said the expansion of the agricultural frontier would not only lead
to the destruction of forests, but would also threaten the world's fresh
water reserves.
The backdrop to the debate is the political and diplomatic standoff
between Washington and Caracas, despite which the United States is the
biggest client for Venezuelan oil, purchasing nearly half of the 2.4
million barrels a day that are exported by this country.
On Margarita Island, García summed up Brazil's position, which helped pave
the way for a consensus: fossil fuels and biofuels are complementary, and
food production will not be neglected. A mere one percent of farmland in
Brazil currently goes towards biofuel production.
The agreement between Brasilia and Washington involves cooperation to
develop a new technology based on hydrolysis, which according to studies
could boost productivity per hectare by 40 percent.
The ethanol producing crops in Brazil will be grown on land that "is not
in the Amazon region," and therefore will not harm the rainforest,
according to García. In addition, he said, jobs and incomes for thousands
upon thousands of small farmers and agribusiness workers can be provided.
In conclusion, according to the Brazilian point of view, countries can at
one and the same time reduce their dependence on imported fuels, and
export a proportion of their biofuels, which would help their trade
balance.
While ministers drew up the final document, the presidents, in a climate
of consensus, approved other initiatives, such as renaming the South
American Community of Nations, created in 2004, as the South American
Union of Nations, UNASUR.
The organisation will have a permanent secretariat based in Quito, the
presidents agreed in informal talks ahead of the formal session of the
summit this Tuesday, which was attended by the presidents of Argentina,
Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Venezuela.
Guyana, Peru, Surinam and Uruguay were represented by their vice
presidents or ministers.
A South American Energy Council, led by the energy ministries of each
government, will be in charge of formulating harmonious strategies for the
region. Chávez formally proposed that a South American Energy Treaty be
adopted in a few years' time, to establish "a secure energy production and
supply system for our nations."
According to García, "If we are intelligent, we will completely transform
South America into the world's biggest energy power," because the region
has oil, gas, hydroelectric power, wind power, biofuels and even nuclear
energy.
This potential, and the overcoming of mutual differences, was demonstrated
on the eve of the summit by Presidents Lula and Chávez, who laid the
cornerstone of a petrochemical complex in Barcelona, Venezuela on the
mainland opposite Margarita Island, in the presence of Presidents Evo
Morales of Bolivia and Nicanor Duarte of Paraguay as their invited guests.
The new petrochemical plant is a joint 50-50 Venezuelan-Brazilian venture
costing five billion dollars. It is to be constructed by Brazilian company
Braskem and the state Venezuelan enterprise Pequiven, and from 2009 it
will produce several million tons a year of ethylene, polyethylene,
polypropylene and plastic supplies.
As for the controversy about ethanol, Chávez had already changed his tune
before the summit, saying "what the United States proposes is to
substitute gasoline with products derived from corn, while in the case of
Brazil they are seen as complementary sources of energy."
With Lula seen on the closed-circuit television view of the summit
listening and smiling, Chávez emphasised Tuesday: "I want to clarify that
we are not against biofuels, in spite of certain elements of the press who
claimed there was a fight between Chávez and Lula."
"Biofuels are a valid strategy so long as food production is not affected,
and they are extracted from sugar cane or castor oil plants," Chávez said,
adding that far from opposing them, his country could buy 200,000 barrels
a day to improve the gasoline produced by Venezuela's state oil giant
PDVSA's refineries in Venezuela and the United States.
(END/2007)
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
What is RSS?
