“When it comes to ethanol in India, the time is now!” It was with these words that the influential Indian oil and gas minister, Hardeep Puri , ended his speech at the official opening of the “Ethanol Pavilion” at the Indian Motor Show, the Auto Expo Motor Show, one of the biggest events of its kind in Asia.

With more than 3 thousand square meters dedicated to the cleanest fuel in the world, the pavilion presented, to more than one million Indians who visited the fair at the beginning of January this year, the first models of motorcycles and cars flex produced in the country, a novelty in the region.

Although belatedly, India gathers all the reasons that justify the adoption of this technology with the use of ethanol, starting with its significant dependence on imported oil, which represents 85% of its consumption, in addition to other challenges that can be addressed directly by the use of ethanol: it is the third country that most emits greenhouse gases, with 63 of its cities among the 100 most polluted in the world, according to the IQAir website, in 2021. In addition, it is the second largest producer of ethanol sugar cane, the most used raw material on the planet for the production of ethanol.

It should be noted that this transformation goes far beyond the minister's words. In fact, in 2014, the blending level of ethanol in gasoline was only 1.5%. In 2022, this mixture reached 10%, and the government has already announced that the mixture should reach 20% by 2025. Or, putting this evolution into absolute values, the acquisition of ethanol by Indian fuel distributors came out of 380 million liters in 2013, 2014 harvest, to an impressive 4.5 billion liters in 2021, 2022; that is, an increase of almost 12 times in just 8 years! And, according to data from the Government of India Commission, a public policy think tank of the Indian government, the estimated need for ethanol for blending 20% ethanol in gasoline will be 10 billion liters per year for the period between 2024 and 2024. and 2026. As you can see, there is a promising market that will generate jobs and income, while reducing emissions.

In addition, the E20 has already begun to be offered, still on an experimental basis, at gas stations in 15 cities across the country, with progressive expansion to the entire region over the next two years. Initially, E20 will be available at 84 gas stations at three state fuel retailers in 11 states, Union territories.

The commitment with which India embraced the Ethanol Program, setting in motion each stage, even before the planned deadline, is a success story of how government, private sector and public institutions, strategically looking at the same objective, can leverage significant transformations in the country.

Regarding the future, the expectation is that we can increasingly strengthen this cooperation, engaging countries that produce and consume biofuel. Brazil and India are two major developing economies where agriculture forms the backbone of their respective economies. As tropical countries, the world's two largest sugarcane producers are therefore well positioned to jointly lead ethanol as a comodite global market and pave the way for a new international market that favors developing countries in the first place. Particularly, India's geopolitical protagonism in Asia should be key to stimulate its use in that, which is configured as the most dynamic region on the planet and, therefore, with a growing demand for energy.

In this sense, it is important to remember that, in 2023, India will host the meeting of the group that brings together the 20 largest global economies and has already signaled that ethanol should be one of the stars in discussions regarding climate change. Next year, it will be up to Brazil to preside over the group that brings together the 20 largest global economies, and it will be an excellent opportunity to continue this process, forming an effective “double” in this agenda.

The world cries out for energy, and the current war in Europe shows us the risks of dependence on the concentration of energy sources (gas) and the origin of supply (Russia). We know that the energy transition through biofuels is a great opportunity to create and modernize industries, boost technological innovation, attract investment and generate high-quality jobs, all of which contribute to sustainable development and to the quality of life of future generations around the world.

As it is a renewable product, ethanol can be produced in a sustainable and competitive manner in more than 100 countries around the world, mainly in tropical and subtropical regions, and be an effective alternative for decarbonization, one of the greatest challenges of this century.