Unica disputes the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office’s claims, stating that the E32 approval underwent a comprehensive technical validation process.

The Brazilian Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) has filed a public civil action seeking an injunction to suspend the increase in the mandatory blend of anhydrous ethanol in gasoline from 30% to 32% (E32), approved by the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE) on July 14. In a statement, the Brazilian Sugarcane and Bioenergy Industry Association (Unica) points out that the CNPE's approval of the increase in the mandatory blend of anhydrous ethanol in gasoline to 32% — E32 — was preceded by a broad technical evaluation process, conducted in accordance with the Future Fuel Law and based on studies coordinated by the Ministry of Mines and Energy. The decision did not stem from a presumption of viability, but from tests specifically structured to assess the effects of using E32 in the Brazilian fleet. The studies were conducted by the Mauá Institute of Technology and focused on light vehicles and motorcycles powered exclusively by gasoline, precisely because they represent the segment of the fleet potentially most sensitive to the increased use of ethanol. The methodology and protocols of the tests were defined collectively, with the participation of representatives from the federal government, the automotive industry, the motorcycle segment, the fuel supply chain, academia, and entities from the productive sector, through meetings and a public hearing. In total, 16 light vehicles and 13 motorcycles representative of the national fleet were evaluated. Among the automobiles, the sample included models manufactured between 1994 and 2024, all powered exclusively by gasoline. The tests analyzed parameters such as performance, fuel consumption, cold start, drivability, acceleration, and the functioning of the electronic engine management systems. The results did not identify significant impacts resulting from the use of E32 in the vehicles evaluated. These studies provided the necessary technical basis for the CNPE's deliberation. Furthermore, the regulation of the measure preserves the nominal content of 32% anhydrous ethanol in gasoline, eliminating any tolerance detectable by tests during inspections. Therefore, the gasoline sold must remain compliant with the technical specification considered in the studies that supported the approval of the measure, and there is no authorization for the adoption of percentages higher than the established nominal content. UNICA reiterates its confidence in the robustness, transparency, and technical consistency of the process that underpinned the CNPE's decision. Public policies aimed at strengthening energy security, competitiveness, and decarbonization of transport must be built on scientific evidence, predictability, and regulatory security. In this context, E32 represents an economically, energetically, and environmentally rational choice: replacing part of a more expensive imported fossil gasoline with ethanol produced in Brazil, which has a lower carbon intensity and whose compatibility with the evaluated fleet has been technically demonstrated. This measure reduces the country's exposure to fluctuations in the international oil market, maintains income, investments and jobs in the Brazilian economy, and expands the participation of a renewable solution in the transportation matrix, which has already used a blend of ethanol in gasoline since 1931.

This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.