Petrobras sends diesel considered polluting to COP30 in Belém.

Petrobras contributed to the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 30) by sending a fuel considered polluting. According to the company, electricity generators and buses will be fueled with S10 diesel, which has only 10% renewable content.

For entities linked to biofuel production, the product cannot be considered sustainable and is equivalent to regular diesel. According to the vice-president of the Potencial Group and member of the Brazilian Biodiesel and Bio-kerosene Union (Ubrabio), only products with a 100% plant-based matrix can be considered biofuel.

“Co-processed diesel, as pointed out by experts in the field, is not considered a biofuel. This is because only 5% of its production process originates from vegetable oil, while the other 95% comes from fossil diesel,” he explained.

The Brazilian Parliamentary Front for Biodiesel was outraged by Petrobras' choice to send a fossil fuel-based fuel to an event on climate change. Led by Congressman Alceu Moreira (MDB-RS), the Front released a statement condemning the choice.

"I am impressed by Petrobras' cynicism in promoting a fossil fuel at COP-30 in an attempt to gain market share, potentially even involving Brazil in a global case of greenwashing," the congressman declared to Roseann Kennedy's column in the newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo.

Petrobras acknowledged the fossil content of S10 diesel, but preferred to highlight the renewable content of the co-processed fuel. "This initiative reinforces the importance that Petrobras places on debates about energy and socio-environmental issues," the company wrote in a statement.

The 10% percentage is even higher than the standard diesel blend at the pumps. Responsible for about 25% of the world's biofuel production, the country already operates with the B15 blend (15% biodiesel in fossil diesel) on a national scale, according to the federal government's Gov agency.

Contacted for comment, the COP30 organization has not yet responded. As soon as a statement from the event is available, it will be included in this report.