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Negotiating Authority in Global Biofuel Governance: Brazil and the EU in the WTO

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  • Sarah L. Stattman
  • Aarti Gupta

    (Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University)

Abstract

The global demand for biofuels (liquid or gas fuels deriving from biomass) has grown dramatically in recent years. European Union policies that promote biofuels as more sustainable sources of transport fuel are partly driving this development. In this article, we analyze how Brazil, as a key producer of biofuels, navigates an emerging global governance context for sustainable biofuels. We do so by examining how Brazil responds to EU biofuel sustainability imperatives, including by evoking World Trade Organization disciplines in questioning their transnational validity and reach. While domestically Brazil emphasizes the social and developmental objectives of its biofuel policies, globally it frames itself as a leading producer of sustainable biofuels. In so doing, it navigates intersecting spheres of authority in a manner that promotes its own biofuel policy agenda, partly by seeking to reframe “sustainability” debates internationally to reflect its developmental agenda.

Suggested Citation

  • Sarah L. Stattman & Aarti Gupta, 2015. "Negotiating Authority in Global Biofuel Governance: Brazil and the EU in the WTO," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 15(1), pages 41-59, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:glenvp:v:14:y:2014:i:4:p:41-59
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Costa, Marina Weyl & Oliveira, Amir A.M., 2022. "Social life cycle assessment of feedstocks for biodiesel production in Brazil," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    2. Sarah L. Stattman & Aarti Gupta & Lena Partzsch & Peter Oosterveer, 2018. "Toward Sustainable Biofuels in the European Union? Lessons from a Decade of Hybrid Biofuel Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-17, November.
    3. Stefan Renckens & Grace Skogstad & Matthieu Mondou, 2017. "When Normative and Market Power Interact: The European Union and Global Biofuels Governance," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(6), pages 1432-1448, November.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    biofuels; sustainable energy; sustainability;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q40 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - General
    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • Q43 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Energy and the Macroeconomy

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