The Chief Executive Officer of BSBIOS proposes transference of subsides of fossil fuels to renewable

At Rio+20, the businessman made proposals on the theme to the final document of the Conference which would be signed by the state chiefs from the 158 countries participants in the event.

The chief executive officer of BSBIOS and president of the Association of Biodiesel Producers of Brazil (APROBIO), Erasmo Carlos Battistella, voted on the proposals in which there are more inclusion of renewable energy in global economy that will be incorporated into the final document of Conference Rio+20 signed by the state chiefs of countries that are members of the United Nations, promoter of the Conference in Rio de Janeiro.

The main proposal approved by acclamation in the panel of debates "Renewable Energies for everybody" was the promotion of the sustainable use and access to energy as public health policy. It meets the benefits of biodiesel to population. With the current 5% mixed in diesel, biodiesel contributes to reduce in 12.945 thousand the number of hospitalizations because of respiratory problems. With 10% mixed this reduction might reach 34.520 thousand. And with 20%, it will be 77.672 thousand less hospitalizations. Following the same path, nowadays, with 5% of biodiesel in diesel, 1.838 thousand lives are saved. With 10%, this number might reach 4.902 thousand. And, when we have 20%, Brazil might save 11.029 thousand lives.

The elimination of subsidies paid by governments to fossil sources of energy has not even been voted, and it was sent to the final document already. However, Battistella made a speech to, as a representative of a sector which is a producer of renewable energy, propose in the final text the expression "redirection" of subsides to new forms of bioenergy able to effectively introduce the concept "green economy" in strategies of economic growth of the countries with respect to the environment. "This Conference has to be objective - he asserted -, and it needs clear goals of quantity and time to the inclusion of renewable sources in the energetic matrix of the nations". To him, the measure demands investments that could be leveraged by these subsidies.

Therefore, the final document will have the proposal of eliminating fossil subsidies, but redirecting for research, production and use of renewable energies. Despite this proposal, the panel still approved the "adoption of fiscal incentives for the acquisition of products energetically efficient".

The president was invited by the Brazilian government to participate in "Dialogues" as representative of the sector of biodiesel production in order to aggregate the experience of Brazilian businessmen who work with biofuels in the context of including renewable energies in the energetic matrix of the country.