“From 2010 to 2022, Brazil’s freight transportation by trucks represented approximately 6% of national net emissions…”
Ana Toni is the secretary of Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change of Brazil – MMA, an economist with a M.Sc. from the London School of Economics and Political Science and Ph.D. from the State University of Rio de Janeiro.
AgriBrasilis – What is the importance of decarbonizing cargo transportation and what has the Ministry of Environment been doing in this regard?
Ana Toni – From 2010 to 2022, Brazil’s freight transportation by trucks represented approximately 6% of national net emissions. Rail transport and domestic shipping account for approximately 0.2% each, and domestic aviation accounts for 0.6%. These are extremely important sectors for the decarbonization of the economy and export value chains in the country.
The decarbonization of the logistics transport sector will serve as a basis for exporting sustainable solutions to other countries, through the production of advanced biofuels – green diesel, SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel), biobunker [maritime biofuel], etc. – and electric batteries, especially for light urban cargo vehicles. Decarbonization will also serve to export highly complex solutions that may become very promising in the near future, such as ethanol or hydrogen fuel cells.
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change is the entity responsible for the intersectoral coordination required to formulate the Plano Clima (Climate Plan), which encompasses the National Mitigation Strategy and the Sectoral Mitigation Plans in the areas of Energy, Transport and Cities (including Urban Mobility). Our role is to integrate sectoral actions and measures through an effective mitigation strategy that encompasses the economy as a whole, defining sectoral mitigation targets, and that are independently monitored over time, based on scientific evidence.
AgriBrasilis – What are the main challenges for working on the decarbonization of freight transport in Brazil, considering institutional, financial and technological dimensions?
Ana Toni – The main challenges are related to the development of new biofuels to replace fossil fuels, the electrification of fleets and the implementation of infrastructure to supply electricity from clean and renewable sources, and the creation of economic mechanisms that direct public and private financial flows towards investments in the decarbonization of these sectors, not only expanding their participation in the sector, but also providing solutions for the world.
The dependence on fossil fuels, especially diesel for cargo trucks, is a “weak spot” in our emissions profile. Decarbonizing this sector, including domestic shipping and aviation, is a technological and economic challenge that we will have to face.
AgriBrasilis – How do you assess the progress of freight transport decarbonization in Brazil?
Ana Toni – Brazil has a predominantly clean and renewable electricity generation matrix and a solid history of developing and using biofuels on a large scale in road transport. These are foundations on which we must build to achieve our climate goals. However, in terms of absolute emissions, the sector has not been able to contribute to reducing national emissions, which means that the “decoupling” between the level of emissions and the growth of this economic activity, that is, its emissions intensity, has not yet proven sufficient to initiate effective decarbonization.
AgriBrasilis – What is needed for Brazil to have an environment conducive to freight transport decarbonization?
Ana Toni – First, there needs to be an ambitious, feasible National Mitigation Strategy committed to the country’s sustainable development. Associated with this, sectoral plans for Energy, Transport and Cities are needed that assign sectoral carbon targets and include mitigation measures, in view of our emissions targets for 2025, 2030, 2035 and net-zero emissions by 2050.
Investments in research, development and technological innovation, in the expansion of the production of advanced biofuels and batteries, in the necessary electrical infrastructure and in new technological routes are key elements. Climate funds, financial flows from institutional investors, financial instruments such as green debentures, sustainable taxonomies, among other economic mechanisms, are important to leverage these investments.
Another important topic is carbon pricing, whether through a tax on CO2 emissions or through the establishment of the Brazilian Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading System (SBCE), which can further contribute to redirecting the flow of investments towards activities to decarbonize the economy. It is worth noting that carbon pricing can also be implemented through import taxes based on GHG emissions, as the European Union is establishing within its borders. Decarbonized value chains – and the logistics transport sector is part of export value chains – could become the standard for international trade in a decade or less.
AgriBrasilis – What can the federal government do to support/accelerate the decarbonization of freight transportation in the urban environment?
Ana Toni – Given the climate emergency we are experiencing today, and the need for Brazil to meet its emissions targets for 2025 and 2030, in addition to the 2035 target yet to be defined, and with a view to achieving GHG emissions neutrality by 2050, we need short, medium and long-term solutions.
In the short term, the land freight transportation decarbonization sector involves increasing the percentage of biodiesel, electrifying light urban freight vehicles and integrating road, rail and waterway modes. It is at this stage, however, that investments that will yield greater mitigation in the sector, while maintaining its economic growth, need to be made, both in terms of R&D&I and in terms of energy production and logistics infrastructure.
In the medium term, around 2035, ethanol, green diesel and green hydrogen may begin to play a more relevant role in the land freight sector, reducing dependence on diesel. In the shipping and aviation sectors, biofuels could make a stronger entry, expanding their production for both domestic and foreign consumption. Brazil could become a leader in these markets on a global level. The electrification of heavier trucks is also an interesting path that we are exploring, in addition to the integration of modes with new railways and waterways being built or completed.
In the long term, the trends mentioned in the medium term will consolidate and take advantage of technological maturity and economies of scale to become vectors of sustainable development and decarbonization of the economy from 2035 to 2050. The consumption of traditional diesel and biodiesel in road transport will be replaced more quickly by green diesel, electrification, hydrogen and ethanol or hydrogen fuel cells. These are solutions that Brazil can, and should, export to the world. Rail transport and waterway navigation must be integrated with road transport, allowing low-carbon logistics to prevail and decarbonize our value chains, with a view to carbon pricing at the national and international levels, via carbon adjustment mechanisms at the border, for example. Domestic aviation and shipping, in turn, will also be operating with the new advanced fuels mentioned above, while Brazil could become a major player in the global SAF and biobunker market.
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