Cars running on ethanol can pollute too: Brazil study

Cars running on sugarcane ethanol can produce as many harmful pollutants as those using ordinary petrol (gasoline), according a study published by Brazil’s environment ministry.

But the report on the emissions of the cars on Brazil’s roads does not count carbon dioxide emissions.
“We want to make sure that customers are aware of pollutant emissions” when they buy a car, Environment Minister Carlos Minc said Tuesday on delivering the report.

The study ranked emissions based of a scale of “green grades” that measured three pollutant gases that do not produce climate change but do affect the health of a country’s population: carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide.

The green grade scale, ranging from 0-10, does not count carbon emissions, which are the main driver of global warming, because emissions from burning ethanol are offset by the carbon dioxide that sugar cane absorbs as it grows, the study said.

AFP