Brazil: A country profile on sustainable energy development

This publication is the product of an international project led by the IAEA to develop an approach suitable for the comprehensive assessment of national energy systems within a sustainable development context. The completion of the first country profile on Brazil focusing on sustainable energy development is the result of an intensive effort conducted by Brazilian experts, primarily from the Energy Planning Programme, Graduate School of Engineering (COPPE), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ); the Brazilian Reference Centre on Biomass (CENBIO) of the University of Sao Paulo; and the Sao Paulo State Environmental Secretariat, jointly with the IAEA and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). The framework, systematic approach and guidelines proposed in this study represent an attempt to move forward with the practical implementation of effective mechanisms that permit the incorporation of sustainable development concepts. The assessment is directed specifically to one of the most important sectors affecting economic and social development - energy. This initiative, officially registered as a 'Partnership' with the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, contributes to Agenda 21, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and the Millennium Development Goals. The study is, to a certain extent, a continuation and implementation at the national level of two worldwide undertakings: the World Energy Assessment undertaken by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNDESA and the World Energy Council (WEC); and the Energy Indicators for Sustainable Development (EISD) undertaken by the IAEA, the International Energy Agency (IEA), UNDESA, Eurostat and the European Environment Agency (EEA). No study of a national energy system within the context of sustainable development can be final and definitive. To be useful, the assessment process must evolve over time to fit ever-changing conditions, priorities and national sustainable energy development criteria. This publication proposes one approach for consideration and use in the assessment of energy systems by energy specialists and decision makers at the national level. This approach serves as a starting point for the development of more suitable and universally accepted methods for comprehensive sustainable energy development assessments. It is hoped that other countries will use the experience and lessons learned from this Brazilian study in the assessment of their own energy systems and in evaluating their progress towards nationally defined sustainable development goals and objectives. It is also hoped that users of this publication will contribute to refinements in the process by adding their own unique perspectives to what is presented herein