Brazilian President Discusses Pros and Cons of Oil at Rome Conference

On June 3, 2008, the Brazilian president arrived in Rome, Italy, to attend the Conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva opened with a speech defending ethanol and biofuels.

The president pointed to ethanol as an important instrument for the world's need of stopping climate change, reduce global warming, fulfilling the targets of the Kyoto Protocol. "Ethanol is a clean fuel, when it is consumed it does not produce CO2", said Franklin Martins - the Lula's Minister of Social Communication.

In his speech, Lula reiterated the Brazilian wiliness to transfer the technology for production of ethanol from sugar cane to some countries in South America, Africa and the Caribbean. Lula defended this measure as important to generate income, employment for countries that have land, sun and water to produce sugar cane and ethanol.

According to President Lula, the responsibility for the high price of food is not of ethanol but the increase in the price of oil in recent years and agricultural subsidies in Europe and the United States. Those who point out at us have their fingers dirtied with oil, he said.

"The fight against protectionism and inflation of food arising from oil are the major issues that must be faced," said Franklin Martins. According to him, the main criticism against ethanol comes from these countries. "Who is against ethanol? The lobby of the petroleum industry and the lobby industry vitiated in subsidy in Europe and the United States," he added.

For the Brazilian government two are causes for the rising of food prices in the world: the high oil prices and agricultural subsidies of developed countries. "Subsidies create dependency, dismantle production structures, generate poverty and hunger where there could be prosperity," he said. "It is essential aside the curtain of smoke created by powerful lobbies that want to assign the production of ethanol responsibility for the recent inflation in the price of food," he added. Agricultural protectionism atrophy and disrupts the production of the poorest countries, he concluded.

During the interview granted journalists from all over the world the, day before the event, president Lula introduced a prototype of a new Brazilian ecological car made with plastics derived from renewable ethanol. Lula once more pointed out that ethanol produce from sugar cane has nothing to do with the same product produced from corn. "Sugar cane is not basic food", he affirmed.

There is the bad cholesterol and the good one - said Lula during his speech - it is the same with ethanol. Brazilian ethanol is from sugar cane and the area of plantations has not increased much in the last five years. Those who say sugar cane plantations are responsible for deforestation of the Amazon know nothing about Brazil and the region, Lula said.

Source:

http://www.agenciabrasil.gov.br/