Ethanol expansion under the EU-Mercosur trade deal

European chemical companies are set to benefit from an increased trade in ethanol, thanks to the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement – and leave a path of destruction in South America.

Portrayed as a green fuel, ethanol is primarily exported to Europe from Brazil where it is made mainly from sugarcane. But the expansion of sugarcane, a water-intensive crop, grown using toxic pesticides, threatens important areas of biodiversity, particularly the unique Cerrado savanna and the Pantanal wetlands. Rural communities and Indigenous People, already bearing the brunt of agribusiness expansion, could further lose access to their traditional lands and livelihoods. The EU-Mercosur Deal will facilitate business as usual for European companies who are directly linked to weakening environmental protection policies as well as the protection of Indigenous rights in Brazil. The damaging impacts of this trade deal are in direct conflict and will undermine the European Green Deal and its promises to reduce pesticide use and protect global biodiversity.