The energy system is the basis of the modern economy that makes possible the advance in the production of several sectors and in our quality of life. As the world's population grows, so does the demand for energy. Annual global energy consumption has been estimated at 580 million terajoules , equivalent to 13,865 million tons of oil, and will increase by 30% between 2000 and 2040.

To meet this demand, it is essential that the energy system is managed responsibly, increasing availability safely and equitably while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This has been one of the great global challenges, called the trilemma of the global energy system:

1. Security: meeting current and future energy demand reliably, resiliently, recovering quickly from outages and efficiently managing domestic and imported sources, with well-distributed energy infrastructure.
2. Equity: provide universal access to reliable, plentiful, and inexpensive energy for domestic and commercial use, including access to clean fuels for cooking and a minimum necessary amount of electricity.
3. Sustainability: energy transition to renewable sources, with greater productivity and efficiency in generation, transmission and distribution, promoting decarbonisation and improving air quality.

A strategy to respond to the trilemma is the paradigm shift towards a circular bioeconomy. Obtaining additional energy from renewable and local sources, intensifying and increasing the use of resources, until reaching the ideal: in which everything that is discarded in one stage of production can be used in another. Technological advances, policies and changes in attitudes are fundamental for this, as shown in the highlighted Figure 1.

Bioeconomy is based on the idea that renewable energy sources can be used to create a circular flow of energy, materials and nutrients, forming a closed-loop system, allowing them to be used multiple times. This energy production approach is much more sustainable and efficient than linear systems (acquisition, production, use, disposal), with finite resources, such as fossil fuels. Additionally, renewable energy sources emit less, helping to reduce air pollution and other environmental impacts. The use of renewable energy is economically more efficient, involving lower costs in energy production.

Technological advances have enabled the incorporation of a diverse range of renewable energy sources with low environmental impacts, both locally and globally. The speed of these transitions, however, has fallen short of the targets set to avoid irreversible climate change for the planet.

The difficulties in effecting the necessary changes to correct the course of our trajectory are not limited to the raw material used. It is about changing a dynamic system in operation, where changes are reflected with great capillarity by economies and with effects that are difficult to predict. It was considering these aspects that researchers, executives and policy makers have focused on new concepts to define more far-reaching strategies, such as the circular bioeconomy.

Conjunctural factors have also been critical in this transition, such as the Covid 19 pandemic, which exposed the fragility of the current energy system, which is still very dependent on fossil raw materials (around 83%).

When the borders closed, the interruption of the flow of products and strategic inputs in a system oriented by external dependence caused a strong recessive impact, in view of the rapid and unexpected disorganization of the production chains and logistical flows in the supply chains.

Billions of people around the planet radically changed their habits, and the growth rates of countries collapsed, retracting the demand and price of oil to levels never seen before.

This weakened support for more sustainable renewable energies, largely without a consolidated market. The risk associated with new investments has also increased.

The invasion of Ukraine by Russia provoked changes in the opposite direction. Prices have increased, resulting in great volatility and risks in supplying adequate energy demand, causing economic instability and social cost, since many countries, particularly those with lower income levels, are still net importers of energy (as shown in Figure 2 in emphasis).

Higher prices have strengthened the case for transitioning to renewable energy. However, they also resulted in inflation, lower growth and ruptures in the financial markets, phenomena that already started in 2022 and that have negative impacts on the large investments required to mature innovations, discouraging the mobility of investment capital between countries.

Brazil is in a favorable position due to the composition of its energy system. In 2020, the total energy supply reached 287.6 million tons of oil equivalent, 48% of which came from renewable sources (as shown in Figure 3 in the highlighted section). No country in the world keeps this ratio by territory, population size and economic size.

What has prevented the country from presenting itself to the world as a model of a responsible and sustainable energy system? It is urgent that measures be implemented to leverage what can be considered one of the greatest assets of the country.

Since the last century, biomass has been used, particularly with the increase in alternatives within the sugar-energy sector.

Sugarcane is a highly valued crop for its biomass production potential for bioenergy systems, standing out as one of the most productive and efficient sources of biomass due to its fast growth rate, high yield and ability to produce large amounts of sugar.

This sugar can then be converted into bioethanol , an important source of renewable energy. Furthermore, the high sugar content of sugarcane makes it suitable for the production of other bioproducts , such as bioplastics and biogas (as shown in Figure 4 in the highlighted section).

Thus, in the current situation, once again the intensification of the use of sugarcane derivatives in the bioenergy system presents itself as one of the best alternatives for Brazil. This in terms of developing circular production processes, as well as proximity to consumers, ease of transmission, secondary carbon markets, among other aspects that favor it.

The importance of sugarcane needs to be reinforced in the current situation, being recognized as a powerful tool in the development of a sustainable bioenergy system for the national economy. Its high sugar content and fast growth rate make it an ideal source of biomass for renewable energy production. It has the capacity to convert a large portion of the fossil-based economy into a circular bioeconomy in the near future, with national technology, and therefore needs to reassume its strategic position in Brazilian socio-environmental development.