Summary

As the hazards of man-made climate change increase, Brazil’s green energy matrix has become a model for energy policy around the world. Sugar-based ethanol, referred to as alcohol in Brazil, emits 90 percent less carbon than petroleum and is a crucial component in the country’s diversified energy system. However, attention on the noncarbon-based fuel seldom addresses the sugar-ethanol industry’s long history of environmental degradation that predated its low-carbon image. In fact, Brazilian ethanol production has a long connection to environmental health issues in the country. Large-scale ethanol production produced pervasive water and air pollution, which the industry still grapples with in the 21st century. Specifically, ethanol distillation produces a byproduct, vinasse, that producers regularly dumped in local waters to negative environmental effect. More broadly, ethanol pushed the expansion of monocultural sugarcane production, which ties to air pollution linked to land change and cane-cutting methods. Despite these environmental issues, Brazilian producers and government officials successfully shaped sugar-ethanol’s green image around the fuel’s lower carbon emissions compared to gasoline. In the early 21st century, this image pushed ethanol to the front of energy transition efforts. As one of the largest alternative fuel industries in the world, Brazilian ethanol’s historical connection to pollution complicates debates about the possibilities and limitations of large-scale energy transitions.