Renewable Energy and Sustainability

in Brazil

Renewable energy has evolved from a trending topic to a main driver of energy growth the recent years.  With companies and governments recognizing the constructive consequences in optimizing old technics and creating new ways to produce power; today we can study and analyze this industry and discover how the future will play out. 

Today, with expanding influence from national and international spheres, the Brazilian renewable energy sector is growing.  In a country that already produces 75% of its electricity generation from hydroelectricity, the Brazilian power matrix is quickly evolving to include the fast growing wind and solar power industries.  Last year (2015), wind power was the fastest growing source of electrical power in Brazil — it had the highest growth rate in the world — with 6% of Brazilians relying on wind energy, 

representing 45 million people or equivalent to powering almost every home in the state of Sao Paulo!

The Brazilian market is ambitious, hoping to reach 18.8 GW of wind capacity by 2019; a goal complemented by Brazil’s announcement that the country would reduce greenhouse gas emissions 37 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, with an "indicative target" of 43 percent reduction by 2030. This makes Brazil the largest developing country to set an economy-wide emissions target in its climate pledge (see the announcement at the UN General Assembly here).

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Our program aims to provide participants a chance to study the approaches a developing nation is taking with renewable energy.

Hereupon, the program will put participants in contact with those responsible for developing this sector in the country, as well as with those studying the field. Moreover, students will also visit socially and environmentally sustainable organizations, interact with Brazilian learners and discuss with those in the front lines of the sustainability battle.