In a move that is likely to spark controversy among supporters of rainforest conservation, Brazilian diesel fuel vehicles will be required to run on a five per cent biodiesel blend from January 2010 – an increase from the previous level of four per cent.

The announcement, made by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is expected to increase biodiesel production levels in the country to 2.4billion litres and will move Brazil to being the second largest producer of biodiesel in the world, behind only Germany. Currently, Brazil ranks fourth behind Germany, the US and France.

It wasn’t until early 2008 that mandatory blends were introduced – and this was quickly followed by a raise from two per cent to three per cent in July of the same year. This was again increased from three to four per cent earlier this year with the increase to five per cent originally scheduled for 2013.

The rising standard has meant a steady expansion of the Brazilian biodiesel market with 43 plants currently in operation with a collective production capacity of 3.6billion litres.

It is hoped that the increase will lead to the creation of jobs and the generation of more income through family farming. More than 90 per cent of the market has received the Social Fuel Label, which is used by the federal government to ensure joint participation by small farmers and agribusinesses in the production chain.

It is expected that using biodiesel as a substitute to regular diesel should reduce CO2 emissions by 62million tons from 2008 to 2017.