Guatemala pursues biofuel strategy with support from the OAS
Guatemala's biofuels potential may soon be realized as the country
continues to move towards a more sustainable economy. Under the leadership of
the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) and in collaboration with the
OAS-SEDI Department of Sustainable Development (DSD), the workshop "Biofuels
in Guatemala: Challenges and Next Steps" was held on February
12, 2014, as a new step taken by the country to consolidate the
development, implementation and monitoring of a national plan of
action on biofuels.
Over 120 participants from the public and private sectors and
academia gathered in this dialogue on the implementation of green
fuels in Guatemala. High level government representatives
participated, including the Minister of Energy and Mines, Erick
Archila Dehesa, who called biofuels “a matter of energy security for
Guatemala” and Deputy Minister of Sustainable Development, Ivanova
Ancheta, who pointed out the usefulness of "establishing short,
medium and long term goals to enable the friendly and sustainable
development of the production and use of ethanol in the country",
which is part of the 2013-2027 Energy Policy.
Strategic actors participated in representation of the private
sector, including the President of Guatemala’s oil and fuel
importers and the President of the Association of Vehicle Importers
of Guatemala. Academia was represented by the Universities del
Valle de Guatemala, Francisco Marroquin and Landívar.
The discussion soon focused on ethanol, a biofuel mostly derived
from sugar cane. "The workshop was fundamental to strengthen the
perception of all actors on the benefits of ethanol, and also to
gain awareness of the country’s own production and potential" said
Milagro Martinez Torres-Chico, OAS Representative in Guatemala.
Participating experts said that Guatemala has a unique competitive
advantage as it currently produces enough ethanol to meet the local
market. Production of ethanol is currently 265 million liters, most
of which is exported to Europe. "10% of current ethanol production
could meet 100% of the demand for blended gasoline with up to 10% of
ethanol, so it is not necessary to invest in increased production"
said Ruben Contreras, Specialist from the OAS-SEDI-DSD.
Experts from Brazil and Colombia presented the experience of their
countries, highlighting the impact observed at the social, economic
and environmental levels. Flavio Castelar, Executive Director of
APLA, the Brazilian Ethanol Cluster, said that after nearly 40 years
of investment in the sector, Brazil is the world’s pioneer in the
use of biofuels, and now derives about 45% of energy and 19% of
fuels from renewable sources, while the rest of the world only
derives 14% of its energy from renewable sources. Mr. Castelar
pointed out that the sector generates more than 720,000 direct jobs
and 200,000 indirect jobs in the rural area of his country.
Meanwhile, Carlos Mateus, expert from the National Biofuels
Federation of Colombia presented the results of recent studies,
which indicate that "In Colombia, the current installed capacity for
the production of biofuels is equivalent to discovering a field
capable of producing 420 million barrels of oil every 20 years,
without becoming depleted" he continued noting that "biofuels are
the only reliable source for maintaining and growing - not depleting
- strategic reserves of liquid fuels. In addition, he noted that it
is estimated that Colombian ethanol reduces emissions of Greenhouse
Gas (GHG) by at least 74%.
During the workshop, the government announced that a pilot project
will be implemented in 2014 with the support of the OAS-SEDI-DSD for
blending ethanol with gasoline in a fleet of public and private
vehicles. The pilot, which will be supported by an awareness
campaign run by the Government, will consist of selecting vehicles
of different makes and models and incorporating a mixture of ethanol
fuel, helping to reduce environmental pollution and informing future
efforts in this area.
The OAS has been working with Guatemala since the end of 2008,
supporting the country in the development of technical studies of
soil, climate and sugarcane, along with impact and sustainability
assessments on the use of biofuels. In 2011 the organization began
the process of supporting the development of institutional,
technical and legal capabilities of the public and private sectors,
in order to raise awareness of the importance of the issue and of
its socio- economic benefits.
The work undertaken in Guatemala by the Department of Sustainable
Development (DSD) of the OAS-SEDI is part of the efforts to support
the implementation of an agreement signed in 2007 by the governments
of the United States and Brazil to promote the establishment of
programs and projects for sustainable bioenergy in the region,
therefore contributing to diversify energy sources and improve
economic sustainability and competitiveness.
Dialogue in Action: the legislature considers measures to boost biofuels
As
follow-up to the workshop, a strategic meeting was held on
February 13 between the legislative and the executive branch,
with the participation of 12 Honorable Congressmen of Guatemala,
the Minister of Energy and Mines, the Deputy Minister of
Sustainable Development and invited experts from Brazil,
Colombia and the OAS.
The meeting provided an opportunity to present the concrete
experiences of other countries and explore the necessary
progress in the legal framework to promote biofuels. As a
result, Congressmen indicated that they would propose to
repeal Act 17/85, which was identified by the OAS in
its studies as the biggest obstacle to introducing the use of
ethanol in Guatemala.
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