Resumo:

Three quarters of the world’s energy consumption is represented by fossil fuels. They are responsible for a great deal of local pollution, and for most of the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) on the planet. The scale in which they have been used will quickly, lead to their rarefaction; considering that global energy consumption should grow, as result of progress in various areas undergoing development. Industrialized countries were not successful in reducing energy consumption without compromising quality of life, in spite of knowing that this can and should be done. The present challenge is to promote the use of renewable energy sources, and to increase the efficiency in energy generation and usage in an unprecedented scale. Sugarcane bioethanol, and other biofuels that may be developed in a sustainable way, could contribute significantly to this end. . However, this will require an unprecedented global research effort.