Engaging Today's Global Citizens

Energy Security in Brazil

Energy security issues are near the top of the international agenda as countries facing crisis look for alternative energy sources while trying to control nuclear proliferation and stabilize global relationships. Brazil is emerging as a leader in both of these areas as internal developments are making it a stronger player on the international scene.

The South American nation is emerging as an important voice in the widening struggle for energy security. As countries around the world are strained by escalating energy prices and the unstable relationships that drive them, the Brazilian commitment to energy self-sufficiency has brought them near to complete independence from foreign oil. Brazil turned to biofuel technology in a response to the oil crisis of the 1970s and out of a desire to reduce dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Despite major ups and downs in the development of this process, it seems to be successful, as more than 80 percent of new cars now being sold in Brazil are manufactured to run off of either ethanol, gasoline, or a combination of the two.

Though the sugarcane used in Brazilian ethanol undergoes a different, easier refining process than the corn used for ethanol in the United States, the success of the Brazilian venture has not gone unnoticed—especially because the price of ethanol as fuel there would be equivalent to oil prices falling to $35 a barrel in the United States. The Brazilian model has led many environmentalists and scholars to rethink the viability of an ethanol solution that previously had received little attention.

Perhaps even more pressing to the international audience are Brazil's nuclear developments and interactions with other South American countries seeking wider regional integration. In May 2006, Brazil announced its first nuclear enrichment center, intended to fuel its power plants without relying on European enrichment. Several Latin American countries, including Brazil, have attempted to build nuclear facilities in the past, with low levels of success. The nuclear question is contentious in Brazil, as it is worldwide, yet Brazil has its own set of issues. These include confrontations Brazilians have had with the International Atomic Energy Agency for not allowing inspectors to examine their facilities as well as comparisons with Iran, whose nuclear goals are, in theory, identical to Brazil's. If this comparison is made more public, dealing with Brazil will be more difficult for the international community in light of its pressure on Iran to halt its nuclear program.

In a regional sense, Brazil is linked to efforts toward expanded integration, which are largely led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Venezuela has been working alongside Bolivia, Argentina, Colombia, and Brazil to develop various regional projects that would lead to wider integration and lessen dependence on foreign relationships, especially with the United States. Venezuela is pushing for gas pipelines linking countries to increase intercontinental exchange. And though the United States is resisting Chavez's attempts to push them out, it is weakened by the fact that Brazil and Argentina are lending their support to South American integration. Brazil was affected in a potentially more negative way by the May 2006 announcement by Bolivian President Evo Morales that Bolivia was nationalizing its natural gas resources. Faced with the possibility of mounting prices, it seems that Brazil will seek to diversify its sources in an attempt to maintain lower prices.

Overall, energy security in Brazil will play a significant role on the international scene as current crises force other countries to seek alternative energy sources, both at home and abroad. Brazil's example in the ethanol market will be of interest to many scientists as they work to develop alternative fuel sources, while Brazilian nuclear ambitions may gain more attention, especially as the nuclear issue heats up with countries such as North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan. Finally, the issue of South American regional integration will be of increasing interest as many countries begin to look to the continent as a source for new energy.

—A. Natasha Wilson