São Paulo - Minister of Mines and Energy, Dilma Rousseff, has announced that Brazil will begin using a 2% additive of vegetable oil in its diesel fuel next year as part of its national biodiesel program. The idea is to be using a 5% vegetable oil additive by the year 2012.

Where will the vegetable oil come from? Rousseff says that castor bean oil is an example of the way one solution can solve various problems. Because castor beans grow in the country's semi- arid region, their production will give the region a boost, reducing social exclusion there. It is also a non-polluting source of energy.

The minister said that in some place, such as Germany, there were studies on the possibility of using only vegetable oils for fuel. In Brazil, the idea is to begin using the mix in urban buses.

"Brazil needs to grow at 4.5% a year. In order to do that we need a trustworthy source of energy. We can have that with our hydroelectric power plants and alternative sources," said Rousseff.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Marli Moreira
Translator: Allen Bennett
08/11/2004