Brazil eucalyptus industry faces uncertainty over delayed curbs on native wood fuel use

Brazil’s eucalyptus industry is facing uncertainty after a planned phase-out of native forest wood for energy use at corn ethanol plants was put on hold. In Mato Grosso, an agreement signed in June between the state government and the local prosecutor’s office has been paused after Governor Otaviano Pivetta postponed the decree needed to set the rules. The move delays investment decisions for eucalyptus plantations, which proponents say can provide a more renewable biomass alternative than wood from natural forests. Under the prosecutor’s pledge, native wood consumption would drop to zero by 2035, but Mato Grosso has requested a legal review of a proposal allowing large consumers to meet up to 5% of energy demand with native wood. Mato Grosso has 14 corn ethanol plants, with plans for more than 10 additional.