, the International energy agency based in Paris, a branch of the oeCd, organized an international seminar on biofuel options, together with the united nations Foundation and the Brazilian government. Brazil was represented by a strong delegation led by Minister Rodrigues. In a sense, this seminar was a coming-of-age for biofuels, or at least heralded a new situation, as explained by a conjunction of three factors:1. a great number of geologists believe that oil output will peak in the next ten to twenty years. this does not mean that there will be no more oil, but simply that the new reserves apparently do not compensate the extraction. We are entering a period of depleting oil reserves that could last a century. However, this is not important in itself, what matters is that we find ourselves in a time of permanently high prices caused by diminishing supply and still growing demand. this is the first factor, oil prices have hit sixty dollars a barrel, already way above the margin that starts to make biofuels competitive. If this proves a relatively long-term phenomenon, we could say that we have entered a new age. 2. the second reason is geopolitical, in other words, the mounting costs that the united states and its allies have to shoulder in order to maintain the supply-lines through the Middle east. More and more north-american specialists are starting to think that it would be more worthwhile to invest in alternatives than to continue trying to administrate this situation. 3. the third factor, which I consider as very important, though I do not believe it has led to the new situation, is the environmental problem. It is already clear that, even if the Kyoto Protocol were implemented fully, it would still be far too little in terms of cutting greenhouse gas emissions. the combination of these three factors recently led the eminent north-american energy specialist, amory Lovins, to publish a new book. In the