LAUSR

Abstract In the effort to control global warming and fossil carbon emissions, many countries are proposing new policies to make their energy matrix more renewable. The increase share of bioethanol as a transportation fuel emerges as a short-term solution because its production technology is mature and it can be blended to gasoline. Ethanol production reached 108 billion liters in 2018 and is predicted to increase in the next years. In this work the global CO2-eq emission, which is avoided by the use of 1G and 2G ethanol in the transportation sector, was estimated based on specific cradle-to-grave life-cycle assessments for corn, sugarcane and beet ethanol, and on the volume consumed by top global players. Considering the period 2008–2018, the use of ethanol (mainly 1G) contributed to the reduction of approx. 0.5 billion ton CO2-eq emissions, and will contribute with another 160 billion ton CO2-eq till 2030 (99% from 1G ethanol).