India and Brazil have reaffirmed their desire to strengthen cooperation between them to usher in various advantages, which include economic growth, by creating jobs in the rural sector and fostering innovation in renewable energy technologies and energy security, by reducing reliance on imports.

Importantly, bilateral cooperation in Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) production will contribute to global efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of aviation, a joint statement issued after a meeting between the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas of India, Hardeep S Puri, and Minister of Mines and Energy of Brazil, Alexandre Silveira, on Cooperation between India and Brazil in the Energy Sector.

Puri paid an official visit to the Federative Republic of Brazil from September 19 – 21 at the invitation of the Minister of Mines and Energy of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Alexandre Silveira. He was accompanied by Indian Oil and Gas Companies representing both the upstream and downstream sectors.

During the visit, the two sides reviewed the existing collaboration in the energy sector including Indian upstream investment, mutually beneficial relationships in bilateral trade, and cooperation in sustainable fuels, particularly biofuels.

“The two sides noted that India and Brazil, as two leading biofuel producers, are well-positioned to collaborate on the production and use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF), by leveraging their existing ethanol and biodiesel production infrastructure, growing aviation market and vast feedstock potential, including their agricultural resources,” the joint statement said.

In the context of SAF, they noted that currently, SAF remains the major mature and viable pathway to decarbonize the aviation sector. At the same time, SAF only accounts for 0.3 per cent of the current fuel use for aviation, the statement said.

“The sides reaffirmed that the goal of net zero in the aviation sector would require joint and collaborative action between the two countries to resolve some of the major hurdles to SAF production, namely, feedstock-related challenges, high cost of SAF compared to other technologies, infrastructure for large-scale production and efficient waste management systems, low maturity of production pathways, etc,” the statement further said.

The ministers underscored that this comprehensive partnership represents a significant milestone in India-Brazil relations aligning with their shared sustainable development goals. By combining their resources, expertise, and technology, India and Brazil will not only lead the global transition towards lower-emission aviation but also provide critical support to other Global Biofuels Alliance members in their decarbonization efforts, ultimately paving the way for a future with cleaner skies.