Socio-economic Benefits of Wind Power in Brazil

Investments in renewable energy and climate change mitigation go beyond the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Secondary benefits include technology transfer, reduction in emissions of other pollutants, and job creation, often called green jobs. It is known that job creation reflects on social, economic, environmental and territorial aspects. Therefore, it can be an indicator of social performance of energy projects. Wind power has experienced an explosive growth over the past few years, and projects contracted between 2009 and 2011 will increase Brazilian installed capacity by 450% in 2016. This article evaluates the potential consequences of this rapid growth on job creation in Brazil. Jobs were quantified in manufacturing, installation and operation stages, observing national manufacture of major components. Estimated wind power growth will generate 90,000 jobs from 2012 till 2016. Over 74% of the jobs are created in the construction and operation stages, which have high level of local employment, bringing social and economic benefits to the installation sites

Energia eólica, geração de empregos e desenvolvimento sustentável

A energia eólica no Brasil passou por um período de lento crescimento, porém, os projetos contratados nos últimos três anos deverão quintuplicar a capacidade instalada. É a tecnologia limpa que mais tem crescido na última década, trazendo benefícios ambientais e sociais para diversos países. Nosso trabalho buscou quantificar a geração de empregos diretos e indiretos pela energia eólica no país. Até 2020, serão gerados 195 mil empregos, e 70% desses são diretos, a maioria na construção civil, com grande potencial para a criação de empregos em localidades rurais. Assim, a energia eólica deverá contribuir decisivamente para o desenvolvimento sustentável do país.Wind power development in Brazil has experienced a long period of slow growth; however, projects contracted over the last three years might increase the current installed capacity by fivefold. This was the fastest growing clean energy technology over the last decade, bringing environmental and social benefits to several countries. Our work has determined direct and indirect job creation potential due to indigenous wind power deployment. About 195,000 jobs will be created up to 2020, out of which 70% direct, and most of them in construction, which has great local job creation potential. Therefore, wind power plays a major role in the sustainable development of the country

Bioenergy and mobility : cooperation between Japan and Brazil within a low carbon world <Research Note>

Promoting the use of renewable energy sources is fundamental to maintain a low carbon world. One challenge is finding appropriate low carbon technologies to fuel the mobility needs of our society. Although, the capacity of biofuels, as a carbon mitigation option, depends on various factors, the potential of sugarcane ethanol as a greenhouse gas reduction option is already established. This brief assessment shows that the current sugarcane cropped area for ethanol production in Brazil is enough to power the combined car fleet of Japan and Brazil. The optimization of the energy throughput of 1 ha of sugarcane to provide for the mobility needs of the 2 countries depends on the adoption of state of the art technologies, which are cost competitive. The maximization of the environmental benefits, which include both carbon dioxide and ancillary local pollution reduction, depends on the trade between the 2 countries in order to enable access to products which are part of the intrinsic vocation of the industry in each one. In order to balance the flows of capital between the 2 countries it is possible to trade electric vehicles for ethanol. If a company (sugar mill) in Brazil imports and leases electric vehicles and guarantees that they are charged with bioelectricity, the use of these vehicles will enhance global and local air quality. The monetary value of ethanol imported by Japan, which are based on 3.9 million ha of sugarcane in Brazil are comparable to the value of 583,000 EVs. This fleet of EVs correspond to 3% of the fleet that can be potentially powered by 2,1 million ha of sugarcane, which is enough to fuel the Brazilian car fleet of 33 million vehicles. Over 5 years, emission savings on one ha basis, combining the effect of the use of one electric vehicle in Brazil and the substitution of ethanol for gasoline in Japan equals to 113 metric tons of CO2

Evaluación ambiental y socioeconómica del consumo de productos textiles en Brasil: relaciones con el comercio internacional

Textile products drive a significant portion of the world economy, providing jobs, and being present in every aspect of our lives in all countries around the world. However, in its production, issues related to environmental and social pressures emerge. Taking into consideration the growing concern related to environmental and social impacts, it is necessary to address the issue of emissions generated indirectly by the sectors that supply the textile industry. This work has carried out an environmental and socioeconomic assessment of the consumption of textile products in Brazil, considering the relationship with international trade. The methodology used was the Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO) analysis, and the database used was Exiobase 3, for the year 2011. It was possible to conclude that most of the indirect impacts related to the textile industry are domestically generated. In the category of climate change and primary energy consumption, the sector that stood out was natural gas, with 51% of CO2 emissions and 33% of energy consumption. The largest share of indirect jobs is generated in the commercial sector with 34%, and the largest number of indirect employees are male with medium skill level, which represents 33%, followed by workers from the vulnerable class (self-employed) with 27%. Based on this analysis, it was possible to identify the greatest limitations related to socio-environmental aspects and the possible solutions to be adopted for this sector.Los productos textiles impulsan una parte importante de la economía mundial, proporcionan empleos, están presentes en todos los aspectos de nuestras vidas y en todos los países del mundo. No obstante, en su producción, surgen problemas relacionados con las presiones ambientales y sociales. Considerando la creciente preocupación relacionada con los impactos ambientales y sociales, es necesario abordar el tema de las emisiones generadas indirectamente por los sectores que abastecen la industria textil. El objetivo de este trabajo fue realizar una evaluación ambiental y socioeconómica del consumo de productos textiles en Brasil, tomando en cuenta la relación con el comercio internacional. La metodología utilizada fue el análisis de entrada-salida multiregional (MRIO), y la base de datos utilizada fue Exiobase 3, para el año 2011. Se pudo concluir que la mayoría de impactos indirectos relacionados con la industria textil son generados domésticamente. En la categoría de cambio climático y consumo de energía primaria, el sector que más destacó fue el gas natural, con 51% de las emisiones de CO2 y 33% del consumo de energía. La mayor proporción de empleos indirectos se genera en el sector comercial con 34%, y la mayor cantidad de empleados indirectos son hombres y tienen un nivel de habilidad medio con 33%, seguidos por trabajadores de la clase vulnerable con 27%. Basándose en este análisis, se identificaron cuáles son las mayores limitaciones relacionadas con los aspectos socioambientales, así como posibles soluciones a implementar para este sector

Historical carbon budget of the brazilian ethanol program

This work models the carbon neutralization capacity of Brazil's ethanol program since 1975. In addition to biofuel, we also assessed the mitigation potential of other energy products, such as, bioelectricity, and CO2 emissions captured during fermentation of sugar cane's juice. Finally, we projected the neutralization capacity of sugar cane's bio-energy system over the next 32 years. The balance between several carbon stocks and flows was considered in the model, including the effects of land-use change. Our results show that the neutralization of the carbon released due to land-use change was attained only in 1992, and the maximum mitigation potential of the sugar cane sector was 128 tonnes of CO2 per ha in 2006. An ideal reconstitution of the deployment of the sugar cane sector, including the full exploitation of bio-electricity's potential, plus the capture of CO2 released during fermentation, shows that the neutralization of land-use change emissions would have been achieved in 1988, and its mitigation potential would have been 390 tCO2/ha. Finally, forecasts of the sector up to 2039 shows that the mitigation potential in 2039 corresponds to 836 tCO2/ha, which corresponds to 5.51 kg of CO2 per liter of ethanol produced, or 55% above the negative emission level.Greenhouse gas emission mitigation Land use change emissions

Life Cycle Assessment of the 33kW Photovoltaic System on the Dana Building at the University of Michigan: Thin Film Laminates, Multi-crystalline Modules and Balance of System Components

The photovoltaic (PV) system on the roof of the School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) serves as another model for the installation of PV systems in urbanized areas, which could play a major role in energy self sufficiency and security while solving the nation's greenhouse gas emission problem. The goals of the project were (1) to provide renewable electricity to the School of Natural Resources and Environment; (2) to serve as a demonstration site for two alternative PV technologies - amorphous and multi-crystalline - in a relatively large installation, which also includes a 30 kW inverter; (3) to support research and provide historical system performance data.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/192270/1/CSS05-09.pdfDescription of CSS05-09.pdf : ReportSEL

Land use change within EU sustainability criteria for biofuels: The case of oil palm expansion in the Brazilian Amazon

This paper discusses the oil palm expansion in the State of Pará, located in the Brazilian Amazon. It focuses on land use change aspects put in perspective with the sustainability criteria for biofuels of the European Renewable Energy Directive (RED). The study shows that palm oil production for energy purposes appears very promising in Brazil. In parallel to local targets, the mandatory European biofuel targets represent an important market potential for the country. It seems too early to know whether the export of palm oil biodiesel from Brazil to Europe will be significant or not. However, it is likely that palm oil exports for biodiesel production in Europe occur in the coming years. Although the RED includes some essential conditions for sustainable production of biofuels, we argue that the values imposed for calculating carbon stocks do not reflect diversity of pastureland where oil palm expansion occurs in the Brazilian Amazon. The use of certain land areas authorised within the RED may also represent a significant limit in terms of biodiversity protection. This study provides new insights that may be used to improve life cycle assessment of biodiesel from palm oil in order to avoid unintended policy consequences. (Résumé d'auteur

La huella de carbono de los hogares brasileños a través de la Encuesta de Presupuesto Familiar (POF)

The main objective of this article is to assess the carbon footprint of Brazilian families based on the Household Expenditure Survey (POF), 2008-2009, from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The methodology used to quantify the Brazilian households’ carbon footprint has comprised three data sources: i) Household expenditure Survey, 2008-2009; ii) Leontief matrix of Brazilian accounts, year 2010; and iii) 2009 World Input-Output Database (WIOD) environmental inventory. Initially, an input-output (IO) model was created. Next, the results from the IO model were combined with the information of the POF. The poorest families, with a monthly income of up to $415.00, emit less than 1.5 metric tons per year, in contrast, the wealthiest families, with a monthly income above$ 5,187.50, release around 18.5 tons, almost 12 times more. It was found that an increase in income, results in an increase in CO2eq emissions. Thus, while the poorest families, which represent more than 20% of the total Brazilian families, cause 7% of the total emissions, the wealthiest families cause 16% of the total emissions although they represent only 4% of the total families. It was observed that the food category loses importance as income increases, while the opposite occurs in the services category. For the poorest families, there is great importance in the housing category, mostly caused by the consumption of electricity and LPG. Therefore, important measures for economic growth supported by actions become particularly relevant.El objetivo principal de este artículo es investigar la huella de carbono de las familias brasileñas, a través de la información de consumo, utilizando la Encuesta de Presupuesto Familiar 2008-2009, del Instituto Brasileño de Geografía y Estadística (IBGE). La metodología utilizada para cuantificar el enlace de carbono de la familia brasileña se realiza en base a tres fuentes: i. La encuesta de presupuesto familiar, 2008-2009; ii) La matriz de cuentas nacionales de Leontief, año 2010; y iii. El inventario ambiental de la base de datos de entrada y salida (WIOD) 2009. De esta manera, se realizó la creación de un modelo de entrada y salida. Este modelo produjo resultados promedio, considerando todas las regiones de Brasil. En consecuencia, las familias más pobres, con un ingreso mensual de US $415.00, emiten menos de 1.5 toneladas por año, mientras que las familias más ricas, quienes tienen un ingreso mensual de más de US$ 5,187.50, emiten 18.5 toneladas, casi 12 veces más. Con ello, se determinó que, al haber un aumento en los ingresos, se da también un aumento en la cantidad de CO2 emitido. Por lo tanto, mientras que las familias más pobres, las cuales representan a más del 20% del número total de familias brasileñas, emiten alrededor del 7% del número total de identificados, las familias más ricas emiten el 16% del número total de identificados, aunque solo representan el 4% del total de las familias. Se observó que la categoría de alimentos pierde importancia según el aumento de los ingresos, mientras que en la categoría de servicios ocurre lo contrario. Para las familias más pobres, la categoría de vivienda es de suma importancia, la cual se rige en gran medida por el consumo de electricidad y GLP. En tal sentido, las medidas de importancia para el crecimiento económico apoyadas por acciones se vuelven fundamentalmente relevantes