Chapter 14 - The role and impacts of policies in hampering the biogas transition in Brazil

Abstract

Biogas energies still struggle to reach higher diffusion in Brazil. Addressing this issue, this chapter aims at discussing the problems hampering the development of biogas in Brazil. More specifically, this discussion focuses on the role of policies and regulations for these problems. For this, the evolution of biogas field in Brazil is understood as a technological innovation system, and its struggles as systemic problems. This chapter also borrows from policy mix literature to comprehend how policies influenced biogas activities. The findings indicate the Brazilian biogas field had four main phases in which biogas players influenced the institutional context only in the last one. However, this influence was undermined because of three main groups of systemic problems: little knowledge on biogas technologies, misalignment of financial conditions, and limited spectrum of interactions. These findings suggest the need for horizontal and vertical coordination to avoid inconsistencies with established policy mixes.