Composition of biodiesel to diesel oil will increase to 12% in April, with an impact of R$ 0.02 per liter.| Photo: Bigstock

Minister Alexandre Silveira, of Mines and Energy, announced this Friday (17) that the composition of biodiesel to diesel oil sold at gas stations will be increased as of April, going from the current 10% to 12%. The decision was taken during the first meeting of the National Energy Policy Council (CNPE), held in the morning with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), Vice President Geraldo Alckmin and Minister Rui Costa, from the Civil House.

The announcement resumes the progression provided for by law 13,263/16, which provided for the increase to up to 15% in a staggered manner of 1% each year until 2026. Silveira explained that the impact on the pumps for the final consumer will initially be R$ 0, 02 per liter from April and another R$ 0.01 per liter each year between 2024 and 2026.

“The studies were carried out and the impact is around R$ 0.01 cent, and it cannot go beyond that, for every 1% of the biodiesel composition. So we increased 2%, we went to B12 [12%] starting in April, which will have an impact of only 2 cents”, he told journalists at the end of the meeting.

Thus, the increase will be 12% in 2023, 13% in 2024, 14% in 2025 and 15% in 2026 and “may be revised” at any time by the CNPE. The mixture of biodiesel in diesel oil has been frozen at 10% since 2021, when former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) decided to hold off on progress to mitigate the rise in fuel prices – biodiesel costs about 20% more than fossil fuel.