Resumo:

The strategy of the State of São Paulo for the expansion of ethanol production is based on a sustainable expansion with low environmental and social impacts. The main components of this strategy are: 1. Improve the efficiency of 1st generation technology presently in use. It is estimated that the average productivity over the next 10 years will increase by nearly 30%. 2. Increase cogeneration of electricity using bagasse from sugarcane. 3. Phase out manual harvesting of sugarcane and accelerate mechanization in areas with slopes less than 12%. 4. Guide the expansion of the cultivated area of sugarcane – which currently stands at 4.34 million hectares – to degraded pastures of which there are about 10 million hectares only in the State of São Paulo. 5. Promote the construction of pipelines to reduce the cost of transporting ethanol from producing regions to major consumer centers and ports for export. 6. Ecological-economic zoning – EEZ and creation of new conservation areas. 7. Introduction of advanced 2nd generation technologies for the production of ethanol. 8. Promote the development of alcoolchemistry. We discuss below in some detail the proposed measures, some of which are already being implemented.