Brazil

Brazil is currently the world’s 9^th largest economy and stands at a major crossroads: it could transform its electricity system to power green economic growth or turn to fossil fuels and join the list of major global emitters.

Historically, Brazil’s electricity generation has been relatively clean in terms of CO₂ emissions, due to its large share of hydropower-based generation. However, the country’s electricity consumption is constantly increasing and the potential for additional hydropower is limited. A lack of investment in renewable energy, together with long periods of drought, has recently caused a significant increase in fossil fuel-based electricity generation. Solutions for achieving climate-neutral power system such as grid integration, renewable hydrogen and demand-side management are yet to be implemented. In order to develop a sustainable Brazilian energy system, the course towards climate neutrality must be set in the coming years. This includes scaling up renewable energy.

Since 2017, Agora has been working with its Brazilian partners Instituto E+ and iCS on ways towards a zero-emission electricity system, and together with Agora Industry on the decarbonisation of the industrial sector.