The federal government announced that it will provide gas cylinders to more than 20 million families by December 2025. The measure reinforces government initiatives that see the energy sector as a strategic role for the State to fulfill its social functions, said President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva this Monday (26), during the launch ceremony of the National Energy Transition Policy.
In this sense, “the energy transition represents an opportunity that the country cannot miss”, said the president, amid criticism of the way in which Eletrobras was privatized – which, in his assessment, was, in the way it was conducted, a crime against the country.
“This business of destroying everything the State can do, thinking that the private sector is better, is a lie. The private sector has to be good; and the State has to be good. I don’t want a maximum State or a minimum State. I want a State that fulfills its role as a State. And the role of the State is to make everyone feel that they can participate in the things that this country can produce,” argued the president.
Lula said he had “dreamed” that Eletrobras would become as important as Petrobras for Brazil, and that it was “with great sadness” that, upon returning to the Presidency of the Republic, he came across the way in which the state-owned company was privatized. “In fact, they didn’t privatize it. They committed a crime against the Brazilian people by handing over a company of this magnitude. If it weren’t for Eletrobras, we wouldn’t have it.” [as usinas hidrelétricas de] Belo Monte, Santo Antonio, Jirau”, he said.
Gas for All
According to Lula, strategic companies like these have a great social function. However, if they are in the hands of the private sector, they end up having other priorities. “We [governo] is obliged to make social policy. When we make gas policy, it is because gas, today, has to be an instrument of the basic basket of the Brazilian people, who often cannot buy the cylinder, which leaves Petrobras for R$36 and is sold in some states for R$140”.
The Minister of Mines and Energy, Alexandre Silveira, highlighted that the National Energy Transition Policy builds the present and guarantees the future, integrating government policies and actions.
“Our mission is to combat energy poverty, which is why we have historically expanded access to cooking gas today. The federal government will provide cooking gas cylinders to more than 20 million families by December 2025. [O Gás para Todos] It is the largest clean cooking access program in the world. We will promote clean cooking and the replacement of firewood,” said Alexandre Silveira.
Also present at the event, the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, said that “this new energy will have positive effects in the countryside, in industry and, with the tax reform, also in the business environment”.
“We will not throw away the opportunity for energy transition that Brazil now has. We have everything that nature can offer us, technically capable people and qualified labor for this. This moment is yet another opportunity that presents itself to Brazil,” added Lula.
“We announced some measures here today on the issue of energy transition. And we still need to create a new mining policy, because ours is outdated. We know how important it is for us to see, among these critical minerals that we have, a way to enrich ourselves and create conditions to be another passport, so that the Brazilian people can grow, as was the case with the Pre-Salt,” he added.
National Energy Transition Policy
According to the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the National Energy Transition Policy (PNTE) represents an important and decisive step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing even further to the sustainability of the planet.
The policy was approved today by the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE). The expectation is that, with it, the country will have the potential to receive, in 10 years, around R$ 2 trillion in investments in the so-called green economy, which could result in the generation of 3 million jobs.
“Wind, solar, hydro, biomass, biodiesel, ethanol, green diesel, carbon capture and storage, sustainable aviation fuel, green hydrogen are the rebirth of Brazilian industry on sustainable bases. It adds value to Brazilian products produced with clean and renewable energy, and it is an opportunity to boost the use of our local content,” the minister highlighted in a note.
The policy establishes the guidelines that will guide the Brazilian strategy for the energy transition, reinforcing the federal government’s commitment not only to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but also to generating employment opportunities, “taking care of supply security and combating social and regional inequalities”.
Implementation
The MME explains that the policy will have two central instruments for its implementation. “The first involves the participation of society, with the creation of the National Energy Transition Forum (Fonte), where various public and private actors will be heard for a permanent collective construction on the topic.”
This forum will be a space for dialogue, listening and welcoming of proposals from members for the development of a fair and inclusive energy transition project. “The National Energy Transition Plan (Plante) will be drawn up as an action plan, within the scope of energy policy, articulated with other government initiatives, such as the PAC, the Climate Plan, the New Industry Brazil and the Pact for Ecological Transformation”, he added.
PLANTE is structured around two axes. The first, with a sectoral approach, covers the industrial, transport, electrical, mineral and oil and natural gas sectors. The second, with a transversal approach, focuses on legal and regulatory frameworks, combating energy poverty and inequalities, and an attractive environment for investments.
