en.Wedoany.com Reported - The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has set a standard carbon footprint value for Brazilian corn ethanol, a move hailed by industry executives as a historic step that could open a significant new market for the maritime sector. In May, the IMO set the standard carbon footprint value for Brazilian corn ethanol at 20.8 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per megajoule, a standard primarily targeting biofuels produced from the country's second-crop corn. According to IMO data, the current global average greenhouse gas intensity for maritime shipping is 93.3 grams of CO2e per megajoule.

Gustavo Mariano, Vice President of Trading at Inpasa, stated that the IMO's decision lays the groundwork for the low-carbon fuel regulations the agency is currently developing. Mariano called it a historic and symbolic milestone, emphasizing that the move solidifies the position of Brazilian and South American corn ethanol as a viable decarbonization fuel. For a long time, Brazil's ethanol industry has been dominated by sugarcane producers, but according to data from industry association Unem, corn ethanol production has surged to nearly 10 billion liters in the 2025/26 season, compared to just 2.65 billion liters at the beginning of this decade.

Rafael Abud, CEO of corn ethanol producer FS, believes that once biofuels are approved for use in shipping, producers will benefit from the premium associated with greener fuels. Abud stated that the company has invested heavily in multiple areas to reduce the carbon footprint of its products, including reducing emissions from biomass use, improving industrial efficiency, and advancing a bioenergy with carbon capture and storage project that could ultimately enable FS's ethanol to achieve negative carbon emissions. Industry executives noted that the scale of the global maritime industry means that Brazilian second-crop corn ethanol will not compete with other biofuels such as sugarcane ethanol and biodiesel, but rather complement them. If the global marine fuel market were to be fully converted to ethanol equivalent, the scale would approach 400 billion, and such a massive transformation requires the participation of all sustainable biofuels.

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