Ethablog looks at the geopolitics of ethanol
Henrique Oliveira's Ethablog - the only place in cyberspace that monitors Brazil's ethanol industry - has some very interesting pieces this week. First it looks at the environmental impacts of Brazilian monocultures on the Amazon region and other ecosystems in the country. He concludes that things are not what they seem, and illustrates the complexities of land-use with an example: when a degraded piece of land is converted to grow soy, the effect is that elsewhere cattle ranchers convert forests to pastures because they can no longer use that land. The dynamic has its own temporality, making impacts difficult to monitor.
Brazil is a huge country, itself consisting of states that differ in importance due to their agricultural output, their economic power and their demographic make-up. In another essay, Henrique traces the fascinating history of the internal geopolitics of Brazil's different states as it relates to the potential for biofuels - from early colonial times to the era of rapid industrialisation. He concludes by asking: "can Brazil drastically multiply its ethanol-producing capacity? Given the land-to-output ratio presented by the state of Sao Paulo, the answer is most certainly a “Yes”."
But it is the piece entitled "Ethanol and the one percent doctrine" that struck us most. Henrique connects best-selling author Ron Suskind's "One Percent Doctrine" with the future geopolitics of ethanol.
The doctrine comes down to Dick Cheney's own definition: 'If there's a 1% chance that Pakistani scientists are helping al-Qaeda build or develop a nuclear weapon, we have to treat it as a certainty in terms of our response. It's not about our analysis ... It's about our response.' Suskind takes this as a new doctrine: '(...) a standard of action that would frame events and responses from the Administration for years to come.'
Now, Henrique asks, given this doctrine, what are the consequences to America's national security if (1) ethanol does become a significant player in the energy industry and (2) a country such as Brazil takes on a leading role in its production? Are such events probable enough that they would already warrant preparing a response?
Read his analysis at EthaBlog.
Article continues
Brazil is a huge country, itself consisting of states that differ in importance due to their agricultural output, their economic power and their demographic make-up. In another essay, Henrique traces the fascinating history of the internal geopolitics of Brazil's different states as it relates to the potential for biofuels - from early colonial times to the era of rapid industrialisation. He concludes by asking: "can Brazil drastically multiply its ethanol-producing capacity? Given the land-to-output ratio presented by the state of Sao Paulo, the answer is most certainly a “Yes”."
But it is the piece entitled "Ethanol and the one percent doctrine" that struck us most. Henrique connects best-selling author Ron Suskind's "One Percent Doctrine" with the future geopolitics of ethanol.
The doctrine comes down to Dick Cheney's own definition: 'If there's a 1% chance that Pakistani scientists are helping al-Qaeda build or develop a nuclear weapon, we have to treat it as a certainty in terms of our response. It's not about our analysis ... It's about our response.' Suskind takes this as a new doctrine: '(...) a standard of action that would frame events and responses from the Administration for years to come.'
Now, Henrique asks, given this doctrine, what are the consequences to America's national security if (1) ethanol does become a significant player in the energy industry and (2) a country such as Brazil takes on a leading role in its production? Are such events probable enough that they would already warrant preparing a response?
Read his analysis at EthaBlog.
Article continues
Monday, July 10, 2006
The World Bioenergy Index launched - investment tool
Here at the BioPact, we have long said that bioenergy feedstocks are going to become genuine commodities and that global indices will track the industry. Now SAM Group, Société Générale and Dow Jones Indexes are launching the World Bioenergy Index (BIOX), because bioenergy is the fastest growing energy sector. This new index comprises the world's biggest companies in the field of bioenergy and gives investors the chance to benefit from this rapidly growing market. The French investment bank Société Générale is issueing the first BIOX certificates on the Bourse de Paris.
The World Bioenergy Index tracks the performance of the world's biggest publicly traded bioenergy companies that are involved in the production of biogas, biomass, ethanol, biodiesel, biohydrogen and biofuels technologies and systems (combined heat and power, biomass co-firing etc...). Its composition is revised twice a year and each trimester its base-value is re-calculated on the basis of the capitalisation of the companies that make up the index. The BIOX currently tracks 9 values and is calculated in real time by Dow Jones Indexes.
With an Open Ended Index Certificate on this index, investors have the possibility to invest simultaneously in these companies and thus to profit from the growth opportunities in the bioenergy industry. The certificate reflects the performance of the index almost one to one. Société Générale will continuously quote buying and selling prices for the certificate which will be listed on the EUWAX in Stuttgart and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Due to liquidity-providing market making, continuous trading throughout the entire trading session is guaranteed
The BIOX Index is set up as a performance index (total return), which means that dividend payments are reinvested.
More information:
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