The development and implementation of public policies towards renewable energies are crucial in order to address the contemporary challenges faced by humanity. The 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle), as a circular economic practice, are often cited as one of the best solutions for sustainable development. Therefore, this study analyzed public policies for renewable energy from the perspective of the circular economy. Accordingly, a systematic review of the literature was carried out with respect to the beneficiaries and convergences of circularities, with a focus on public policies for renewable energies. The sample had public policies classified into three types (distributive, redistributive, and regulatory policies). The results showed that the first studies began in 1999, with a significant increase in publications during the 2010s, in which Germany was the country with the greatest contribution. The analyses associated with space showed the countries committed to the use of renewable energies and the 3Rs of the circular economy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The economic analyses revealed that the circular economy for the generation of renewable energy has a positive economic return in terms of social well-being and the mitigation of environmental degradation. There is a barrier to the circular economy’s development posed by the cost of its implementation in the private sector and the resistance to raising awareness in society, requiring strong public sector engagement in decision making and the constant evaluation of public policies. It is concluded that the circular economy facilitates more efficient, productive structures and public policies, promoting alternatives for energy security and sustainability for the world energy matrix.

Bioelectricity generation from sugarcane is significant across Brazil and is related to regional market structure characteristics where the mills are located. To understand the distribution and conjuncture of this sector, this study analyzes the pattern of location, concentration and clustering of the bioelectricity supply from sugarcane bagasse in Brazil, for 2017 and 2022. The data were obtained from the Brazilian National Electric Energy Agency, and the methodology was based on concentration indices and scan statistics. The results showed that the Southeast region presented the most thermoelectric power plants and installed capacity. The Southeast and Midwest regions were highly concentrated in terms of quantity and sugarcane bioelectricity installed capacity. Five clusters were identified for the number of power plants in 2017; for 2022, there were eight clusters. Regarding installed potential, there were 14 clusters in 2017 and 23 clusters in 2022, all statistically significant. The existence of clusters provides information on the competitive advantages in the national market, which can drive new investments in more densified areas or in the neighborhood. Identification of the location and concentration pattern showed that facilities in the state of São Paulo and the Northeast coast were responsible for the most important share of supply. These results indicate to investors the impact of electricity generation on the sector and the most relevant location for installing new thermoelectric plants.

This study aimed to investigate how Industrial Symbiosis (IS) built around thermoelectric power plants (TPPs) located in forest-based clusters in the southern plateau region of the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, can stimulate the adoption of circular economy (CE) practices. Data were collected to identify the presence of forest-based clusters and the purchase and sale of logs, processed wood, and forest residues from companies within the clusters, and to investigate CE practices using the ReSOLVE framework adopted in two TPPs, which used residues and black liquor as fuel. The results indicate that the nature of the forest-based activities enhances the formation of clusters, especially when TPPs use forest residues for energy production with IS intensified in this process. Brazil has 140 TTPs that use forest biomass with the capacity to generate 5.5 million wK. Three clusters were identified in the study region with purchase and sale, respectively, of logs (78.6 and 100%), processed wood (75 and 66.7%), and wood residues (45.5 and 83.3%) within the region. The case studies indicated the strong occurrence of CE practices in the cases analyzed that contribute to four of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) proposed by the United Nations (7, 8, 9, and 12).

In Northeast Brazil, the use of biomass for energy generation is settled on traditional productive arrangements, such as a sugarcane production system in the humid Atlantic coastal area and firewood extraction from native tropical dry forests in the west. In parallel, substantial amounts of other biomass sources, such as residues from agricultural or urban processes, are still little used or wholly wasted, fudging the opportunity to generate new value chains based on these biomass sources. We hypothesize that using these non-traditional biomass sources to produce biofuels would significantly increase the regional bioenergy supply. In this context, this article discusses the potential for the production and use of biofuels and bioenergy in Northeast Brazil and its effects on regional development, which may be useful for both private actors and policymakers in the energy sector. The use of biomass sources for energy in the region is significant, reaching approximately 8.8 million tons of oil equivalent (toe) per year, emphasizing the already consolidated production of sugarcane and its derivatives. The use of all biomass resources in the Northeast region could supply around 4% of the Brazilian national electrical energy demand, with an environmental footprint of 0.055 tCO_2eq per toe, which would contribute to reducing emissions from the Brazilian energy matrix generation. Regarding the spatial distribution of biomass sources, sugarcane prevails on the coast, firewood and livestock manure in the dryland area towards the west, and municipal solid waste is distributed throughout the region within urban areas. Different from what we expected, the potential energy recovery from municipal waste and animal manure would increase by only 17% the current bioenergy supply. In the future, since the majority of the region presents a semi-arid climate with limited rainfall, to increase the use of biomass as an energy source, there is a need to increase the supply of biomass sources with high efficiency in water use and good yields in drylands. For this, the cultivation and use of cacti and agave, for example, could contribute to making biorefineries viable in the region. Above all, public policies for harnessing bioenergy in NE Brazil must seek opportunities associated with the carbon/decarbonization economy, with studies being needed to assess the technical, economic, social, and environmental viability of future productive arrangements.

This study analyzed the evolution and degree of the global concentration of pulp exports from 1961 to 2014. In order to measure and analyze the concentration, the following indicators were used: Concentration Ratio [CR(k)]; Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI); Theil Entropy Index (E); Hall and Tideman Index (HTI); Comprehensive Concentration Index (CCI); and Gini Coefficient (G). We concluded that there was a tendency of growth in the global pulp exports during the analyzed period due to an increase in demand driven by population growth and to per capita consumption, enhancing the increase in the number of exporting countries. The CR(k) of the global pulp exporting countries showed that the four [CR(4)] and eight [CR(8)] largest countries present a high concentration, with an oligopolistic market structure and competitive advantage. About 100% of exports are dominated by the 20 largest countries [CR(20)]. The HHI, E, HTI, and CCI indicators showed that there is a concentration in global pulp exportation and presented a deconcentrating tendency. Despite the increase in the number of exporting countries, there was no significant reduction in the inequality of global pulp exports. According to the Gini Coefficient, the inequality was strong to absolute.

This study analyzed the regional concentration of the gross production value (GPV) of firewood in Paraíba from 1994 to 2014. It measured the concentration by means of the Concentration Ratio [CR(k)] of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), Theil’s Entropy (E), the Hall-Tindelman Index (HTI), and the Gini Index (G). From the analyses performed, it was concluded that there was growth in the GPV of firewood in Paraíba from R$ 2.59 million to R$ 10.39 million (in current terms). The CR(4) and CR(8) of the municipalities indicated low concentration; the CR(4) in the microregions presented a moderately low concentration, and the CR(8) had moderately high concentration. The HHI of the municipalities and microregions has a competitive market, and the HHI of the mesoregions has moderate concentration; E corroborated the evidence of HHI; HTI presented low regional concentration; G showed medium to strong inequality for mesoregions, weak to medium in microregions and zero to weak in municipalities.