Energy and Carbon Embodied in the International Trade of Brazil

Shifting the economicstructure of a country towardsenergy-intensive industries may lead tosignificant effect on the environment. Oneof the major environmental impactsassociated to such changes is the increaseof the Carbon Dioxide emissions – the mainfactor behind the greenhouse effect. In thelast decades, structural changes in theBrazilian economy were close related tochanges in the country's tradespecialization. This paper analyzes to whatextent energy use and its associatedCO₂ emissions of Brazil in the 90's maybe overloaded by changes in the country'strade specialization towards a moreenergy-intensive mix. This study finds thatBrazil exported, in net terms, significantamounts of energy and carbon (C) embodied ingoods traded with the rest of the world inthe 90's. In fact, some 6.6% of the finalenergy used by the industrial sector andaround 7.1% of its C emissions areprompted by international trade. Byoverloading the country's energy use andits associated environmental damage (bothlocal and global), this situation seems tocontribute to increase not only local butalso global environmental damage, sinceC leakage from non-Annex I countriesdue to international trade may lead tohigher C concentration in theatmosphere.     

Energy efficiency and reduction of Co2 emissions through 2015: The Brazilian cement industry

The cement industry is characterisedby intensive energy consumption throughout itsproduction stages which, together with the calcinationof its raw materials, accounts for significant amountsof greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. In 1996, theBrazilian cement industry consumed 4.3% of the energyrequired by the industrial sector, contributing over22 Tg (Teragrams) of CO₂. The prospects forgrowth in this sector in Brazil indicate risingdemands for fossil fuels, with a consequent upsurge inemissions. This article aims to present the prospectsfor energy conservation in the Brazilian cementindustry through to 2015, taking into account: theintroduction of new production technologies in thissector, the use of waste and low-grade fuels,cogeneration, the use of cementitious materials, andother measures, based on a technical and economicenergy demand simulation model. In all scenarios, wefound that is possible to significantly reduce energyconsumption and CO₂ emissions for BrazilianCement Industry. Under the market potential scenarios,energy savings vary between 1562.0 to 1900.6 PJ(PetaJoules), with use of cementitious materialsaccounting for around 31% of this total. Fortechnical potential scenarios, use of cementitiousmaterials could represent 51% to 52% of totalachieved energy savings, between 2374.6 to 2803.4 PJ.