Brazil: (Future) green energy power and strategic partner for the EU?

Abstract:

This article explores and compares self- and xeno-visions of Brazil’s energy policy in relation to the European Union (EU) and the other BRICS countries. Brazil’s competence as ‘green’ or ‘environmental power’ is often highlighted in view of its ascending role in international relations. Yet, its diverse and green domestic energy matrix of around 45 per cent renewables is a mixed blessing.

The EU and Brazil seem natural partners in their normative orientation towards sustainability, but empirical evidence from our media analysis of the two leadings dailies – Folha de Sao Paulo and Valor Economico – and expert interviews in Brasilia and Brussels suggest a picture of normative discrepancies in interpreting the guiding norms of sustainability, competitiveness and security.