Brazil needs to approve this year a slate of draft legislation to unlock investment in clean energy technologies and show that the country has done its homework before it hosts the UN Cop 30 climate conference in Belem in 2025, chief executive of Brazil state-controlled Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates, told Argus.
Draft bills that create a framework for renewable hydrogen, offshore wind, carbon capture and storage, first and second-generation biofuels and the creation of a carbon market have been through several debates in the lower house and the senate, impeding the development of the respective industries.
Prates was the author of several of these bills as a senator before he took on the role of head of Petrobras.
"We have been debating in the last year very hard," Prates said on the sidelines of the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston, Texas, on Monday. "It was the first year of a new government that had to change many things, including in energy policy. They [the draft bills] ensure security for the country and sovereignty. Just because we host Cop 30 in Belem, we need to show that we are doing our homework," he said.
Petrobras expects that around half of its revenue will come from renewable technologies, including low-carbon motor fuels, but Prates said the company is being cautious in the process of transforming its business to reduce its emissions.
"We are moving in a responsible way, we are not rushing," he said. "We are ready to give new businesses [financial] security because we have the infrastructure, the scale needed [for new projects] and the experience."
Apart from biofuels production, green hydrogen and offshore wind development are key areas for the company.
The company is analyzing options to replace fossil fuel-based hydrogen used at its refineries with renewable hydrogen. It has also submitted applications for offshore wind areas to the federal environmental protection agency (Ibama).
