In December, Sao Paulo will put in circulation the first bus run exclusively on ethanol, for a one-year test run. The Brazilian metropolis joins the BEST (BioEthanol for Sustainable Transport) initiative, led by Stockholm and under way in cities in seven countries, the National Biomass Center (coordinator of the project in Brazil) announced on Oct. 23.

It is an alternative that could be adopted on a large scale rapidly, reducing the high levels of local air pollution, Marcio Schettino, development manager of the metropolitan transport company EMTU, told Tierramérica.

The technology, from the Swedish company Scania, does not require operational changes in Brazil, which is accustomed to using ethanol. EMTU continues to test alternatives, like biodiesel and hydrogen, and an electric hybrid bus, whose first national model proved inefficient.