Palm Oil Detectives

2026-04-11 15:35:00

Biofuel Boom in Brazil: Green Growth or Greenwash?

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Brazil’s booming biofuel industry is hailed as a solution to climate change, yet its rapid expansion comes at a cost. The push for bioethanol and biodiesel production is driving deforestation, threatening food security, and displacing communities. As Brazil positions itself as a leader in bioenergy, concerns grow over the environmental and social impacts of this industry, spotlighting the need for genuine solutions. 🌿 #Biofuel #EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateActionNow #Boycott4Wildlife

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The #biofuel boom in #Brazil made from #palmoil and #soy is touted as a #climate saviour. Yet in reality, biofuel #deforestation is causing #food insecurity, #indigenous land-grabbing and #ecocide #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife 🌴🛢️🔥⛔ @palmoildetect.bsky.social

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Written by Monica Piccinini for The Canary, republished with author permission. Read original.

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Brazil’s push to expand biofuels is central to its strategy to “drive the decarbonisation agenda” and build a robust “bioeconomy,” setting the stage for this to become a major focus at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP 30) in Brazil in November 2025.

Brazil’s biofuel ‘revolution’

During a ceremony at the Brasilia Air Base in October, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared:

Brazil will lead the world’s energy revolution

This statement came as he signed the Fuel of the Future Law, a set of initiatives aimed at advancing the country’s bioenergy sector. Lula added:

Brazil will get a head start because you, the entrepreneurs, who have the capacity to produce, to research. Enacting this law demonstrates that none of us have the right to continue disbelieving that this country can be a large economy,” added Lula.

Lula announced a rise in ethanol blending with gasoline from 22% to 27%, with a target of 35% by 2030. Biodiesel blending, currently at 14%, will increase by one percentage point annually, aiming to reach 20% by March 2030.

Biofuel mandates have generated a relentless demand for crops, including sugarcane, corn, soybean, and palm oil.

Ethanol and biodiesel production in Brazil reached nearly 43bn litres in 2023, according to the 2024 Brazilian Statistical Yearbook on Oil, Natural Gas, and Biofuels, published by Brazil’s National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP).

Biofuels for energy independence

In Brazil, biofuels make up 25% of transportation fuels – a remarkably high share compared to other nations – and this proportion is still increasing. Bioethanol leads the biofuel sector, representing an average of 49% in terms of energy of the total gasoline and ethanol consumption.

Jorge Ernesto Rodriguez Morales, lecturer and researcher in environmental policy and climate change governance at the Department of Economic History and International Relations at Stockholm University, spoke to the Canary. He mentioned:

Historically, Brazilian energy policy has achieved significant success, largely due to the development of the oil industry alongside biofuels and other energy sources. This diversification has enabled Brazil to rely less on energy imports from the global market, fostering a degree of energy independence and security critical for economic stability.

He added that:

By reducing dependence on external energy sources, Brazil’s economy is less vulnerable to external shocks, such as fluctuations in oil and gas prices. Sugarcane ethanol, in particular, has been pivotal in these developments, positioning bioenergy – a renewable energy form derived from recently living organic materials known as biomass – at the forefront of national strategies to combat climate change.

Green sheen

Although bioenergy has been promoted as a climate strategy, there is ongoing debate within the scientific community regarding the actual sustainability of biofuel production.

Some scientists argue that the production of biofuels is an energy-negative process that may lead to various socio-environmental consequences. These include rising food prices that threaten food security and the conversion of forestlands for biofuel cultivation. Some state that presenting bioenergy as a climate strategy has served as a justification for the industry’s expansion in Brazil and globally.

Morales explained that:

Despite its success, the biofuels industry in Brazil developed within broader developmental and territorial security goals, often placing significant pressure on ecosystems and communities in an institutional environment that generally overlooked socio-environmental concerns. This unsustainable co-evolution of development pathways and bioenergy – marked by deforestation, land colonization, and agricultural expansion – has limited the adaptation space in agriculture. As a result, current climate policy is largely oriented toward path-dependent and potentially maladaptive strategies, such as relying on sugarcane ethanol for transportation.

A report by the Royal Society raises concerns about expanding biofuel production, highlighted issues such as the impact on food prices, the potential rise in greenhouse gas emissions due to direct and indirect land use changes (LUC) associated with biofuel feedstock production, and the risks of land, forest, water resource, and ecosystem degradation.

The Royal Society report recommends comprehensive auditing of biofuel supply chains as essential, along with enhancing transparency, data availability, and sharing. These elements are crucial for ensuring that the life cycle assessment (LCA) of biofuels is reliable and beneficial for policymaking.

Demand driving deforestation

The use of feedstocks like sugarcane, palm oil, corn, and soybean – predominant in Brazil – has sparked significant controversy, primarily due to competition with food production and concerns about converting agricultural land into fuel production. Rising demand for agricultural products poses a risk of increased deforestation and the use of land with high biodiversity value to satisfy this demand, along with related freshwater consumption.

The EU Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR) identifies soybean as one of the world’s leading drivers of deforestation. Trade interests appear to be the main barrier to removing soy biofuels from the Renewable Energy Directive, as Europe imports nearly 90% of its soy for biodiesel production from Brazil, Argentina, and the United States.

Dr David Pimentel, a professor of ecology and agricultural sciences at Cornell University, asserted that there is insufficient land, water, and energy available for biofuel production. He also highlighted environmental issues associated with converting crops into biofuels, such as water pollution from fertilisers and pesticides, air pollution, soil erosion, and contributions to global warming.

Pimentel conducted calculations that accounted for all the inputs needed to produce ethanol, including machinery, seeds, labour, water, electricity, fertilisers, insecticides, herbicides, fuel, drying, and transportation. He found that producing one litre of fuel-grade ethanol (5,130 kcal) requires an energy input of 6,600 kcal, indicating that biofuel production is an energy-negative process.

‘Serious socio-economic impacts’

A report published in the Biofuel journal states that measuring greenhouse gas emissions linked to ethanol fuel should account for emissions at every stage, including production, processing, distribution, and vehicle use. This comprehensive assessment is known as the core well-to-wheels LCA emissions, along with any additional emissions resulting from LUC.

Morales discussed some of the impacts of implementing a climate policy that relies on biomass fuels. He told the Canary:

Current climate policy positions biomass-based fuels as a replacement for fossil fuels in the transport sector, with sugarcane ethanol as a flagship solution for greenhouse gas reduction in international climate negotiations. However, scaling up bioenergy production can have serious socio-environmental impacts.

He added that:

Like food production, ethanol requires land, water, and nutrients, meaning that a large-scale expansion could intensify the negative side effects of agricultural growth. These include significant socio-environmental challenges related to sustainable development goals, such as deforestation (SDG 15), CO2 emissions from land-use change (SDG 13), nitrogen losses (SDGs 13, 14, 15), unsustainable water withdrawals (SDG 14), and food security risks (SDG 2), among others.

Brazil biofuel policies

During Brazil’s colonial period (1500-1822), sugarcane plantations established the basis for political power through land monopoly and slavery. Policies were implemented to promote the economic interests of the agribusiness sector.

In response to the energy and sugar crisis of the 70s, Brazil launched a national ethanol program called “Pró-Álcool” in 1975. This initiative included tax breaks, subsidies, and lower financing costs to benefit the sugarcane industry, including producers, planters, distillers, and the automotive sector.

The “Pró-Álcool” policy led to significant repercussions, such as the exploitation of workers (bóias-frias) and environmental degradation, which the Brazilian government neglected out of concern that environmental regulations might hinder economic growth and development.

From 1992 to 2004, while Brazil’s total greenhouse gas emissions rose by 80%, the government defended its support for ethanol on environmental grounds, positioning bioenergy as a “sustainable energy source.” This approach framed bioenergy as part of a climate strategy, leading to its promotion at international levels to combat climate change.

Overlooking indirect land use changes

However, the socio-environmental impacts of bioenergy production were largely overlooked, including direct and indirect LUC, water and biodiversity loss, deforestation, fertiliser pollution, and soil erosion.

In 2017, the “Renovabio” initiative was launched as a new government program aimed at promoting the growth of the bioenergy sector, with an emphasis on various types of biofuels, such as biodiesel, biomethane, bioethanol, and biokerosene.

A report published in the Biofuels journal indicates that Brazil’s RenovaBio programme does not account for direct or indirect LUC in its emissions calculator, potentially leading to an overestimation of decarbonisation levels and encouraging biofuel production with greater environmental impacts. To ensure the program is environmentally effective and delivers appropriate signals to decision-makers, it is crucial to incorporate LUC parameters into the calculator.

Morales mentioned that:

Brazil’s ethanol diplomacy aims to portray the nation as climate-conscious, using biofuel as leverage in climate negotiations. Many countries have followed Brazil’s ‘successful’ example by integrating bioenergy into their climate policies, even though its social and environmental costs are widely acknowledged.

Biofuel Expansion

Raízen, formed from the merger of Cosan and Shell, along with BP Bunge, Atvos, São Martinho, Tereos, Lincoln Junqueira, Cofco, Coruipe, Adecoagro, Katzen, Millenium, Brasil BioFuels (BBF), and Agropalma, represent some of the leading bioenergy companies in Brazil.

In October, Katzen International, a prominent bioethanol company, announced the successful completion and launch of the INPASA Agroindustrial S/A bioethanol plant expansion project in Sinop, Mato Grosso. This expansion boosted the plant’s production capacity to 2.1bn litres per year, establishing it as the largest grain-based dry mill bioethanol facility in the world.

Corn ethanol production in Brazil is projected to reach 7.7 billion litres in 2024/25, representing a 20% increase compared to previous years.

The biofuel industry is making significant investments in the state of Pará. Governor Helder Barbalho has announced plans for a biofuel refinery to be established in the municipality of Redenção, located in the southeastern part of the state. A collaboration between the Mafra Group and Companhia Mineira de Açúcar e Álcool (CMAA), which together comprise Grão Pará Bioenergia, will contribute over $350 million to this project.

Barbalho said that:

These are the agendas that will be challenging for us: the forest agenda, the energy production agenda. These are different agendas in which each one of them can present their solutions.

Alongside the refinery, a fattening service for cattle will be provided to partner ranchers, allowing them to use the refinery’s facilities for confining their animals. The primary feedstock for cattle confinement will be Dried Distillers Grain (DDG), a by-product of corn ethanol production.

Fueling conflicts

A report by NGO Imazon revealed that Pará accounted for 57% of the degraded forest areas in the Amazon. Forest degradation surged from 196 km² in September 2023 to 11,558 km² in the same month this year – nearly a 60-fold increase.

The state of Pará, which will host COP30, is marked by conflicts, including those related to the palm oil industry. Palm plantations in Pará cover an area that was once rainforest, approximately 226,834 hectares, nearly equivalent to the size of Luxembourg.

An investigation by the NGO Global Witness revealed that two major Brazilian palm oil companies, Agropalma and Brasil Biofuels (BBF), were implicated in conflicts with local communities in the state of Pará. BBF faced allegations of environmental crimes and violent efforts to suppress indigenous and traditional communities. Meanwhile, Agropalma was associated with community evictions and land grabbing.

A study by scientists Lucas Ferrante and Philip Fearnside revealed that biofuel companies, such as Millenium Bioenergia, are establishing a production chain for biofuels and food products derived from monocultures on Amazonian Indigenous lands and within other traditional communities.

Millenium announced plans to “partner” with Indigenous and traditional communities, proposing unpaid labour to produce corn, fish, chickens, pigs, and confined cattle. This approach not only infringes on human rights but also poses a risk of triggering new pandemics due to zoonotic leaps linked to environmental degradation.

Biofuels an exercise in greenwashing Brazil’s climate policy

Brazil must expand biofuel production to meet growing demand, which will increase logistical pressures nationwide. Critical to this expansion are infrastructure projects, such as the construction of highways like the Amazon’s BR-319, connecting Manaus to Porto Velho, and the Ferrogrão railway project, linking Sinop in Mato Grosso to the port of Miritituba, situated across the Tapajós River from Itaituba in Pará. These developments are likely to cause irreversible environmental degradation and adversely affect numerous indigenous and traditional communities in these areas.

Morales highlighted the Brazilian government’s position and priorities concerning the expansion of biofuel production:

In foreign environmental policy, the Brazilian government has historically been reluctant to prioritise environmental protection over economic growth, often attributing major environmental issues to developed countries. Although various administrations have made efforts to address environmental challenges such as biodiversity loss and climate change, these issues remain secondary concerns, frequently viewed as obstacles to short-term political and economic goals.

He added:

Positioning bioenergy as a climate strategy has effectively justified broader policies supporting the biofuel industry and contributed to the greenwashing of Brazil’s climate policy on the international stage. Several countries have mirrored Brazil’s approach, adopting bioenergy into their climate agendas in response.

Featured image via the Canary

Written by Monica Piccinini for The Canary, republished with author permission. Read original.

ENDS

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Pledge your support

#airlinefuel #AmazonRainforest #auditFraud #aviation #biofuel #biofuels #Boycott4wildlife #BoycottPalmOil #Brazil #Climate #ClimateActionNow #corruption #deforestation #ecocide #EnvironmentalJustice #food #fossilFuels #fossilfuel #fraud #greenwashing #indigenous #PalmOil #palmOilBiofuel #palmOilDeforestation #palmoil #SAF #soy

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_Área afetada pelo dano ambiental equivale a mais de 13 vezes_ _a cidade de São Paulo e 57% fica no Pará_ \[caption id="attachment\_47444" align="aligncenter" w...

^Imazon

Palm Oil Detectives

2026-03-21 15:52:00

Asian Small-clawed Otter Aonyx cinereus

Asian Small-clawed Otter Aonyx cinereus

IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable

Locations: India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Taiwan, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia (Sumatra, Borneo, Java), The Philippines (Palawan)

Found in freshwater wetlands, peat swamps, mangroves, hill streams and rice fields across South and Southeast Asia, with a genetically distinct and critically impacted subspecies (Aonyx cinereus nirnai) in the Western Ghats of India.

The Asian Small-clawed #Otter, the world’s smallest otter species — is inquisitive, intelligent, and highly social. They are listed as #Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and are declining rapidly due to #palmoil #tea and #coffee #deforestation, #poaching, #pesticide #pollution, and the illegal pet trade. Their fragile habitat in the Western Ghats, India home to the subspecies Aonyx cinereus nirnai, is being destroyed at an alarming rate for palm oil monocultures, plantations, and hydropower development. Boycott #palmoil and demand protection for these sensitive and intelligent wetland sentinels. #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife #Vegan #BoycottMeat

The Asian Small-Clawed Otter 🦦🩷 is the smallest #otter in the 🌎. A tenacious survivor in #Asia’s vast #rivers, #pesticide pollution and #palmoil #ecocide now pose grave threats. Help them when you #Boycottpalmoil 🌴⛔️ #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect palmoildetectives.com/2026/03/…

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Communicating with chirps and whistles, endearing Asian Small-Clawed #Otters live in rowdy groups 🦦😘 They’re #vulnerable from the illegal #pet trade and #palmoil #deforestation. #Boycottpalmoil 🌴🩸❌ #Boycott4Wildlife in the supermarket! @palmoildetect palmoildetectives.com/2026/03/…

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youtu.be/R9L-N1WgFig

Appearance and Behaviour

With silky chocolate-brown fur, pale undersides and a broad, flat face, the Asian Small-clawed Otter has a distinct charm. Their tiny claws don’t extend past their fingers — an adaptation that gives them remarkable dexterity for catching prey. They weigh only 2.7 to 3.5 kg and reach lengths of 73 to 96 cm, making them the smallest otter species in the world.

Highly vocal and playful, these otters live in tight-knit family groups of up to 15. They communicate with at least a dozen vocalisations — chirps, squeals and whistles — and use communal latrines to mark their territories. In the Western Ghats, they are more active at night and prefer rugged hill streams with dense grasses and rocky pools for cover and escape routes.

Threats

Palm oil deforestation and peat swamp destruction

Across Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia, vast areas of peat swamp forests and mangroves — critical habitats for Asian Small-clawed Otters — have been destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations. These plantations drain wetlands, replace diverse ecosystems with monocultures, and leave otters with no access to food or cover. In India, the expansion of palm oil into the Western Ghats under so-called ‘green development’ initiatives is now destroying the rocky hill stream habitats used by the Aonyx cinereus nirnai subspecies. This deforestation not only eliminates their shelter and food sources but also causes soil erosion and alters the hydrology of entire watersheds.

Conversion of forests to palm oil, tea and coffee plantations in the Western Ghats

In southern India, particularly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, large-scale conversion of native forests to palm oil, tea and coffee plantations is reducing the range of Aonyx cinereus nirnai. These monocultures fragment stream habitats and introduce pesticides that poison aquatic life. Studies have found the otters avoiding plantation areas due to lack of vegetation cover and prey (Raha & Hussain, 2016). As a result, the Western Ghats population is now restricted to narrow, isolated pockets, surrounded by human-altered landscapes that are increasingly inhospitable to them.

Capture for the Illegal pet trade and cruel conditions in pet cafés

The Asian Small-clawed Otter is the most heavily trafficked otter species in Asia’s exotic pet trade. Between 2016 and 2017, over 700 individuals were recorded for sale online in countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam (Gomez & Bouhuys, 2018). Many are poached from the wild as pups, leading to the death of their parents and collapse of social groups. Captive conditions in pet cafés and private homes cause extreme stress and suffering — and demand is rising due to social media content that normalises otter ownership.

Poaching for pelts and traditional use

Poaching continues to be a severe threat in South Asia. In the Western Ghats, otters are hunted for their pelts and body parts, which are used in traditional medicine or sold on the black market. Reports from protected areas in India reveal organised trapping and trade routes extending across state lines (Prakash et al., 2012). These killings often go undocumented due to weak enforcement, and they rapidly deplete already fragile local populations.

Overfishing and prey depletion

In many parts of Asia, otters face competition from humans for aquatic prey. Overfishing in rivers, lakes, and mangroves has drastically reduced populations of crabs, mudskippers, and fish species that form the core of the otter’s diet. Pollution from fish farms and chemical runoff further weakens these food webs, making otter survival harder during dry or lean seasons. In some areas, otters are also deliberately killed by fishers who perceive them as pests competing for the same resources.

Pesticide run-off pollution from agriculture

Agricultural runoff from palm oil, tea and coffee plantations containing pesticides, herbicides, and heavy metals has been shown to poison water sources throughout the otter’s range. In the Western Ghats of India and parts of Southeast Asia, such contaminants accumulate in the food chain and affect the physiology of aquatic mammals. Polluted waterways reduce prey availability and can lead to bioaccumulation of toxins in otters, weakening their immune systems and reproductive capacity. This is especially critical in closed or stagnant freshwater systems like rice paddies and irrigation channels, where contamination is concentrated.

Hydropower development and infrastructure fragmentation

Dams and hydroelectric projects throughout the Western Ghats and Southeast Asia have altered river flow, submerged natural habitats, and fragmented otter territories. These developments destroy riverine connectivity, which otters rely on to forage and disperse. For the nirnai subspecies, hill streams once connected across forest corridors are now interrupted by roads, canals, and dams — leading to isolated, unsustainable populations. Infrastructure development often proceeds without proper environmental assessments, disregarding the needs of aquatic species like otters.

Climate change and habitat drying

Shifts in monsoon patterns, increased droughts, and rising temperatures are affecting the wetlands and rivers that Asian Small-clawed Otters depend on. Reduced water flow in dry seasons can strand otter families and eliminate key feeding pools. In the Western Ghats, erratic rainfall is already altering seasonal resource use patterns for A. c. nirnai, increasing their vulnerability to disturbance (Narasimmarajan et al., 2024). Climate stress, combined with other threats, compounds the likelihood of local extinctions.

Geographic Range

Their range stretches across India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia (including Borneo, Sumatra, Java), the Philippines (Palawan), China and Taiwan. In India, they are found in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. They are absent from large swathes of their historical range, including the Western Himalayas.

The genetically distinct subspecies Aonyx cinereus nirnai is restricted to the Western Ghats’ Moyar River and surrounding hill streams. This biodiverse stronghold is currently being cleared for palm oil plantations, hydropower projects, and invasive monocultures, putting this population in grave danger.

Diet

Asian Small-clawed Otters are primarily crustacean specialists. Their diet includes crabs, snails, molluscs, fish such as mudskippers and catfish, amphibians, insects, snakes, and even rodents. Scat analysis in Malaysia and Thailand revealed crabs to be the most frequent prey, often making up over 80% of their diet.

In rice fields and mangroves, they may leave molluscs out in the sun to soften the shells before eating — a sign of their intelligence and adaptability. Seasonal changes in water levels influence the availability of prey, leading to subtle shifts in their dietary habits throughout the year.

Mating and Reproduction

These otters are monogamous and breed year-round, with gestation lasting 62–86 days. Litters typically include 2–7 pups. In captivity, they start breeding at around 18 months of age, and may live up to 11 years. Parents build nests together before birth and both contribute to raising the young. Pups begin to open their eyes around five weeks old and start swimming with their mothers at around three months.

FAQs

How many Asian Small-clawed Otters are left in the wild?

There is no global population estimate, but their numbers are declining throughout their range. In China and Cambodia, they are now almost locally extinct, with only a few scattered sightings since 2006 (Li & Chan, 2017; Heng et al., 2016). Surveys in India confirm drastic reductions in range, especially from west to east, over the past 60 years (Hussain et al., 2011).

What is the lifespan of the Asian Small Clawed Otter?

In captivity, Asian Small-clawed Otters can live up to 11 years (Crandall, 1964). Their lifespan in the wild is likely shorter due to environmental pressures and poaching.

Why are Asian Small Clawed Otters endangered?

They are threatened by habitat loss from logging, plantations, palm oil, pollution, and construction of dams. In the Western Ghats, the genetically distinct nirnai subspecies is losing habitat to hydropower development and palm oil monocultures, which destroy the narrow, rocky streams they depend on (Narasimmarajan et al., 2024).

Do Asian Small-clawed Otters make good pets?

Absolutely not. Keeping them as pets is cruel and selfish. They are wild animals with complex social and environmental needs. The illegal pet trade is driving them towards extinction, causing immense suffering and ripping family groups apart (Gomez & Bouhuys, 2018). Buying a pet otter and also sharing pet otter content on social media fuels this horrific industry — if you love otters, protect them in the wild! Do not buy them as pets or support this cruel industry!

How is palm oil affecting their survival?

Palm oil plantations have destroyed vast tracts of mangroves, peat swamps, and wetlands in Malaysia, Indonesia, and now India. In the Western Ghats, forests are being cleared for palm oil under the guise of “afforestation” and “reforestation” using non-native species. This directly threatens the survival of A. c. nirnai (Narasimmarajan et al., 2024).

Take Action!

Raise your voice for the smallest otter in the world. Every time you shop, Boycott palm oil and reject products linked to deforestation and wetland destruction. Support indigenous-led conservation efforts in the Western Ghats and Southeast Asia.

Never buy otters or exotic animals — their capture fuels extinction. Adopt a plant-based lifestyle to protect wetlands, rivers and biodiversity. #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife #Vegan #BoycottMeat

Support Asian Small-Clawed Otters by going vegan and boycotting palm oil in the supermarket, it’s the #Boycott4Wildlife

Support the conservation of this species

This animal has no protections in place. Read about other forgotten species here. Create art to support this forgotten animal or raise awareness about them by sharing this post and using the #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife hashtags on social media. Also you can boycott palm oil in the supermarket.

Further Information

Gomez, L., & Bouhuys, J. (2018). Illegal otter trade: An analysis of seizures in selected Asian countries (1980–2015). TRAFFIC. traffic.org/site/assets/files/…

Narasimmarajan, K., Mathai, M. T., Hayward, M. W., & Palanivel, S. (2024). Lesser-known sentinels: Role of environmental variables influencing the seasonal resource use patterns of Asian Small-clawed Otters (Aonyx cinereus nirnai) in the Western Ghats Moyar River Biodiversity Hotspots. IUCN Otter Spec. Group Bull., 41(5), 296–310. iucnosgbull.org/Volume41/Naras…

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Asian small-clawed otter. Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_sm…

Wright, L., de Silva, P.K., Chan, B.P.L., Reza Lubis, I. & Basak, S. 2021. Aonyx cinereus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T44166A164580923. dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.202…. Accessed on 17 April 2025.

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Take Action in Five Ways

1. Join the #Boycott4Wildlife on social media and subscribe to stay in the loop: Share posts from this website to your own network on Twitter, Mastadon, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube using the hashtags #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife.

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Join 3,178 other subscribers

2. Contribute stories: Academics, conservationists, scientists, indigenous rights advocates and animal rights advocates working to expose the corruption of the palm oil industry or to save animals can contribute stories to the website.

Wildlife Artist Juanchi Pérez

Read more

Mel Lumby: Dedicated Devotee to Borneo’s Living Beings

Read more

Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao

Read more

Health Physician Dr Evan Allen

Read more

The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert

Read more

How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy

Read more

3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.

twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status…

twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status…

twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1…

4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.

5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here

Pledge your support

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Learn about “sustainable” palm oil greenwashing

Read more about RSPO greenwashing

Lying
Fake labels
Indigenous Land-grabbing
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Deforestation
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A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)

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2026-04-11 15:35:00

Biofuel Boom in Brazil: Green Growth or Greenwash?

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Brazil’s booming biofuel industry is hailed as a solution to climate change, yet its rapid expansion comes at a cost. The push for bioethanol and biodiesel production is driving deforestation, threatening food security, and displacing communities. As Brazil positions itself as a leader in bioenergy, concerns grow over the environmental and social impacts of this industry, spotlighting the need for genuine solutions. 🌿 #Biofuel #EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateActionNow #Boycott4Wildlife

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The #biofuel boom in #Brazil made from #palmoil and #soy is touted as a #climate saviour. Yet in reality, biofuel #deforestation is causing #food insecurity, #indigenous land-grabbing and #ecocide #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife 🌴🛢️🔥⛔ @palmoildetect.bsky.social

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Written by Monica Piccinini for The Canary, republished with author permission. Read original.

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Brazil’s push to expand biofuels is central to its strategy to “drive the decarbonisation agenda” and build a robust “bioeconomy,” setting the stage for this to become a major focus at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP 30) in Brazil in November 2025.

Brazil’s biofuel ‘revolution’

During a ceremony at the Brasilia Air Base in October, president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared:

Brazil will lead the world’s energy revolution

This statement came as he signed the Fuel of the Future Law, a set of initiatives aimed at advancing the country’s bioenergy sector. Lula added:

Brazil will get a head start because you, the entrepreneurs, who have the capacity to produce, to research. Enacting this law demonstrates that none of us have the right to continue disbelieving that this country can be a large economy,” added Lula.

Lula announced a rise in ethanol blending with gasoline from 22% to 27%, with a target of 35% by 2030. Biodiesel blending, currently at 14%, will increase by one percentage point annually, aiming to reach 20% by March 2030.

Biofuel mandates have generated a relentless demand for crops, including sugarcane, corn, soybean, and palm oil.

Ethanol and biodiesel production in Brazil reached nearly 43bn litres in 2023, according to the 2024 Brazilian Statistical Yearbook on Oil, Natural Gas, and Biofuels, published by Brazil’s National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Biofuels (ANP).

Biofuels for energy independence

In Brazil, biofuels make up 25% of transportation fuels – a remarkably high share compared to other nations – and this proportion is still increasing. Bioethanol leads the biofuel sector, representing an average of 49% in terms of energy of the total gasoline and ethanol consumption.

Jorge Ernesto Rodriguez Morales, lecturer and researcher in environmental policy and climate change governance at the Department of Economic History and International Relations at Stockholm University, spoke to the Canary. He mentioned:

Historically, Brazilian energy policy has achieved significant success, largely due to the development of the oil industry alongside biofuels and other energy sources. This diversification has enabled Brazil to rely less on energy imports from the global market, fostering a degree of energy independence and security critical for economic stability.

He added that:

By reducing dependence on external energy sources, Brazil’s economy is less vulnerable to external shocks, such as fluctuations in oil and gas prices. Sugarcane ethanol, in particular, has been pivotal in these developments, positioning bioenergy – a renewable energy form derived from recently living organic materials known as biomass – at the forefront of national strategies to combat climate change.

Green sheen

Although bioenergy has been promoted as a climate strategy, there is ongoing debate within the scientific community regarding the actual sustainability of biofuel production.

Some scientists argue that the production of biofuels is an energy-negative process that may lead to various socio-environmental consequences. These include rising food prices that threaten food security and the conversion of forestlands for biofuel cultivation. Some state that presenting bioenergy as a climate strategy has served as a justification for the industry’s expansion in Brazil and globally.

Morales explained that:

Despite its success, the biofuels industry in Brazil developed within broader developmental and territorial security goals, often placing significant pressure on ecosystems and communities in an institutional environment that generally overlooked socio-environmental concerns. This unsustainable co-evolution of development pathways and bioenergy – marked by deforestation, land colonization, and agricultural expansion – has limited the adaptation space in agriculture. As a result, current climate policy is largely oriented toward path-dependent and potentially maladaptive strategies, such as relying on sugarcane ethanol for transportation.

A report by the Royal Society raises concerns about expanding biofuel production, highlighted issues such as the impact on food prices, the potential rise in greenhouse gas emissions due to direct and indirect land use changes (LUC) associated with biofuel feedstock production, and the risks of land, forest, water resource, and ecosystem degradation.

The Royal Society report recommends comprehensive auditing of biofuel supply chains as essential, along with enhancing transparency, data availability, and sharing. These elements are crucial for ensuring that the life cycle assessment (LCA) of biofuels is reliable and beneficial for policymaking.

Demand driving deforestation

The use of feedstocks like sugarcane, palm oil, corn, and soybean – predominant in Brazil – has sparked significant controversy, primarily due to competition with food production and concerns about converting agricultural land into fuel production. Rising demand for agricultural products poses a risk of increased deforestation and the use of land with high biodiversity value to satisfy this demand, along with related freshwater consumption.

The EU Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR) identifies soybean as one of the world’s leading drivers of deforestation. Trade interests appear to be the main barrier to removing soy biofuels from the Renewable Energy Directive, as Europe imports nearly 90% of its soy for biodiesel production from Brazil, Argentina, and the United States.

Dr David Pimentel, a professor of ecology and agricultural sciences at Cornell University, asserted that there is insufficient land, water, and energy available for biofuel production. He also highlighted environmental issues associated with converting crops into biofuels, such as water pollution from fertilisers and pesticides, air pollution, soil erosion, and contributions to global warming.

Pimentel conducted calculations that accounted for all the inputs needed to produce ethanol, including machinery, seeds, labour, water, electricity, fertilisers, insecticides, herbicides, fuel, drying, and transportation. He found that producing one litre of fuel-grade ethanol (5,130 kcal) requires an energy input of 6,600 kcal, indicating that biofuel production is an energy-negative process.

‘Serious socio-economic impacts’

A report published in the Biofuel journal states that measuring greenhouse gas emissions linked to ethanol fuel should account for emissions at every stage, including production, processing, distribution, and vehicle use. This comprehensive assessment is known as the core well-to-wheels LCA emissions, along with any additional emissions resulting from LUC.

Morales discussed some of the impacts of implementing a climate policy that relies on biomass fuels. He told the Canary:

Current climate policy positions biomass-based fuels as a replacement for fossil fuels in the transport sector, with sugarcane ethanol as a flagship solution for greenhouse gas reduction in international climate negotiations. However, scaling up bioenergy production can have serious socio-environmental impacts.

He added that:

Like food production, ethanol requires land, water, and nutrients, meaning that a large-scale expansion could intensify the negative side effects of agricultural growth. These include significant socio-environmental challenges related to sustainable development goals, such as deforestation (SDG 15), CO2 emissions from land-use change (SDG 13), nitrogen losses (SDGs 13, 14, 15), unsustainable water withdrawals (SDG 14), and food security risks (SDG 2), among others.

Brazil biofuel policies

During Brazil’s colonial period (1500-1822), sugarcane plantations established the basis for political power through land monopoly and slavery. Policies were implemented to promote the economic interests of the agribusiness sector.

In response to the energy and sugar crisis of the 70s, Brazil launched a national ethanol program called “Pró-Álcool” in 1975. This initiative included tax breaks, subsidies, and lower financing costs to benefit the sugarcane industry, including producers, planters, distillers, and the automotive sector.

The “Pró-Álcool” policy led to significant repercussions, such as the exploitation of workers (bóias-frias) and environmental degradation, which the Brazilian government neglected out of concern that environmental regulations might hinder economic growth and development.

From 1992 to 2004, while Brazil’s total greenhouse gas emissions rose by 80%, the government defended its support for ethanol on environmental grounds, positioning bioenergy as a “sustainable energy source.” This approach framed bioenergy as part of a climate strategy, leading to its promotion at international levels to combat climate change.

Overlooking indirect land use changes

However, the socio-environmental impacts of bioenergy production were largely overlooked, including direct and indirect LUC, water and biodiversity loss, deforestation, fertiliser pollution, and soil erosion.

In 2017, the “Renovabio” initiative was launched as a new government program aimed at promoting the growth of the bioenergy sector, with an emphasis on various types of biofuels, such as biodiesel, biomethane, bioethanol, and biokerosene.

A report published in the Biofuels journal indicates that Brazil’s RenovaBio programme does not account for direct or indirect LUC in its emissions calculator, potentially leading to an overestimation of decarbonisation levels and encouraging biofuel production with greater environmental impacts. To ensure the program is environmentally effective and delivers appropriate signals to decision-makers, it is crucial to incorporate LUC parameters into the calculator.

Morales mentioned that:

Brazil’s ethanol diplomacy aims to portray the nation as climate-conscious, using biofuel as leverage in climate negotiations. Many countries have followed Brazil’s ‘successful’ example by integrating bioenergy into their climate policies, even though its social and environmental costs are widely acknowledged.

Biofuel Expansion

Raízen, formed from the merger of Cosan and Shell, along with BP Bunge, Atvos, São Martinho, Tereos, Lincoln Junqueira, Cofco, Coruipe, Adecoagro, Katzen, Millenium, Brasil BioFuels (BBF), and Agropalma, represent some of the leading bioenergy companies in Brazil.

In October, Katzen International, a prominent bioethanol company, announced the successful completion and launch of the INPASA Agroindustrial S/A bioethanol plant expansion project in Sinop, Mato Grosso. This expansion boosted the plant’s production capacity to 2.1bn litres per year, establishing it as the largest grain-based dry mill bioethanol facility in the world.

Corn ethanol production in Brazil is projected to reach 7.7 billion litres in 2024/25, representing a 20% increase compared to previous years.

The biofuel industry is making significant investments in the state of Pará. Governor Helder Barbalho has announced plans for a biofuel refinery to be established in the municipality of Redenção, located in the southeastern part of the state. A collaboration between the Mafra Group and Companhia Mineira de Açúcar e Álcool (CMAA), which together comprise Grão Pará Bioenergia, will contribute over $350 million to this project.

Barbalho said that:

These are the agendas that will be challenging for us: the forest agenda, the energy production agenda. These are different agendas in which each one of them can present their solutions.

Alongside the refinery, a fattening service for cattle will be provided to partner ranchers, allowing them to use the refinery’s facilities for confining their animals. The primary feedstock for cattle confinement will be Dried Distillers Grain (DDG), a by-product of corn ethanol production.

Fueling conflicts

A report by NGO Imazon revealed that Pará accounted for 57% of the degraded forest areas in the Amazon. Forest degradation surged from 196 km² in September 2023 to 11,558 km² in the same month this year – nearly a 60-fold increase.

The state of Pará, which will host COP30, is marked by conflicts, including those related to the palm oil industry. Palm plantations in Pará cover an area that was once rainforest, approximately 226,834 hectares, nearly equivalent to the size of Luxembourg.

An investigation by the NGO Global Witness revealed that two major Brazilian palm oil companies, Agropalma and Brasil Biofuels (BBF), were implicated in conflicts with local communities in the state of Pará. BBF faced allegations of environmental crimes and violent efforts to suppress indigenous and traditional communities. Meanwhile, Agropalma was associated with community evictions and land grabbing.

A study by scientists Lucas Ferrante and Philip Fearnside revealed that biofuel companies, such as Millenium Bioenergia, are establishing a production chain for biofuels and food products derived from monocultures on Amazonian Indigenous lands and within other traditional communities.

Millenium announced plans to “partner” with Indigenous and traditional communities, proposing unpaid labour to produce corn, fish, chickens, pigs, and confined cattle. This approach not only infringes on human rights but also poses a risk of triggering new pandemics due to zoonotic leaps linked to environmental degradation.

Biofuels an exercise in greenwashing Brazil’s climate policy

Brazil must expand biofuel production to meet growing demand, which will increase logistical pressures nationwide. Critical to this expansion are infrastructure projects, such as the construction of highways like the Amazon’s BR-319, connecting Manaus to Porto Velho, and the Ferrogrão railway project, linking Sinop in Mato Grosso to the port of Miritituba, situated across the Tapajós River from Itaituba in Pará. These developments are likely to cause irreversible environmental degradation and adversely affect numerous indigenous and traditional communities in these areas.

Morales highlighted the Brazilian government’s position and priorities concerning the expansion of biofuel production:

In foreign environmental policy, the Brazilian government has historically been reluctant to prioritise environmental protection over economic growth, often attributing major environmental issues to developed countries. Although various administrations have made efforts to address environmental challenges such as biodiversity loss and climate change, these issues remain secondary concerns, frequently viewed as obstacles to short-term political and economic goals.

He added:

Positioning bioenergy as a climate strategy has effectively justified broader policies supporting the biofuel industry and contributed to the greenwashing of Brazil’s climate policy on the international stage. Several countries have mirrored Brazil’s approach, adopting bioenergy into their climate agendas in response.

Featured image via the Canary

Written by Monica Piccinini for The Canary, republished with author permission. Read original.

ENDS

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_Área afetada pelo dano ambiental equivale a mais de 13 vezes_ _a cidade de São Paulo e 57% fica no Pará_ \[caption id="attachment\_47444" align="aligncenter" w...

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