May 15, 2007, 17:47 GMT
Brasilia - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Tuesday that he plans to talk up bio-diesel and other alternative fuels at the G8's June summit in Germany.
'I am going to take my little bio-diesel package to the G8,' Lula said during his first press conference since being inaugurated for a second term in January.
Lula will be attending the June 6-8 meeting in Heiligendamm of the leaders of the seven most industrialized nations in the world, plus Russia. Lula said alternative fuels used in Brazil could provide an answer for global warming.
'We do not want countries to stop using oil,' Lula said. 'We are going to 'un-warm' the planet with alcohol and bio-diesel.'
The left-wing Brazilian president joked that he wants to be the 'propaganda boy' of Brazilian energy policy, intent on boosting the production and use of bio-fuels on a global scale.
Lula said that when developed countries show an interest in using ethanol and other bio-fuels, developing countries will welcome them 'with open arms to offer land, water, sun and qualified manpower.'
However, plans to boost bio-fuels have met with opposition from some environmental organizations and also from other leftists in Latin America, notably presidents Fidel Castro of Cuba and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.
In March, Lula and US President George W Bush signed an agreement to promote the production and use of ethanol around the world. Together the two countries produce some 72 per cent of the world's ethanol, although the United States uses corn in production while Brazil uses more efficient sugar cane.
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NoharnessMay 16th, 2007 - 11:53:39
Bravo! Bio-diesel makes excellent sense. It is 89% as good as diesel made from crude. Ethanol, on the other hand, is the worst deal you can imagine.
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