With yesterday's European Parliament (EP) approval of REDII (495 in favor, 68 against, 61 abstentions) a major milestone on the EU's biofuels journey has been reached. It's been a rocky road, and lawmakers have finally agreed a text in the Renewables Directive that gives biofuels a future in Europe - albeit an uncertain one. Ahead of COP24, and bearing in mind the need to reduce global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius, the transport sector must contribute its share, and for that we need a sound biofuels policy as the example of Brazil shows. Transport emissions only account for 10% in Brazil (21% in Europe) but the country is committed to further reduce its carbon footprint and with the new RenovaBio policy framework it is on track to drive the growth of the alternative fuels industry.

Nov 14, 2018 - Oilprice.com

Could Brazil's Oil Sector Trigger An Economic Miracle? Brazil’s new far-right President elect Jair Bolsonaro has huge plans in store for Brazilian crude. His energy team is planning a massive push for the sale of Brazil’s enormous crude deposits to foreign investors. This is a move that would potentially open up a staggering quantity of oil, bigger than all of Mexico’s proven reserves, to Big Oil and other private interests. Bolsonaro’s new pro-market strategies and political recruits represent a major shift in political ideology for the veteran politician. Before running for president, Bolsonaro was largely in favor of state control, and, as a retired military officer himself, the president elect continues to be close to extremely nationalist military leaders. Now, the long-time political figure has changed his tune, winning the Brazilian presidency on a free-market platform of and a promise to Brazil’s economic doors to foreign producers.

Nov 14, 2018 - Bloomberg

After four years, dozens of arrests and a handful of restructurings, holders of bonds from Brazil’s construction giants are still suffering the fallout from a corruption scandal that all but halted the industry in Latin America. The building unit of Odebrecht, which was forced into talks with banks earlier this year amid dwindling cash flow and a dearth of new projects, is again seeking help to deal with debt it can’t afford to pay back, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The company is in talks to renegotiate terms on US$ 3 billion of international bonds after missing an interest payment last month, the person said.

Nov 14, 2018 - Associated Press

Itron, Inc., which is innovating the way utilities and cities manage energy and water, will deploy its Gen5 network to enable energy efficiency, increased grid awareness and provide better usage information for the Brazilian utility, Elektro, part of the Neoenergia/Iberdrola group. The utility will replace existing electricity meters with smart meters from Eletra, an Itron authorized sales partner, and deploy Itron’s network in three cities, including Atibaia, Nazaré Paulista and Bom Jesus dos Perdões, over the next year. Elektro is part of Neoenergia group, the second largest distributor of electric power in Brazil, serving 13.6 million customers.