Diesel fuel used in Brazil is a five-percent mix of biofuel as of January 1 this year, reaching the goal set by the National Biofuel Program, begun in 2005, three years ahead of time. Until now, the mix was three percent. The initiative reduces urban pollution and emissions of greenhouse-effect gases that cause climate change. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the new policy boosts national annual consumption of biodiesel to 2.4 billion liters.

The lower the proportion of diesel and the more biofuel, the greater the reduction of carcinogens, pathologist Paulo Saldiva, coordinator of the pollution laboratory at the University of São Paulo, told Tierramérica.

The initiative will also benefit the production of oleaginous crops like soy, the principal raw material of biofuel in Brazil, with a harvest of 64 million tons this year.