    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book I)]
    [March 9, 2007]
    [Pages 262-264]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at Petrobras Transporte S.A. Facility in Sao Paulo, Brazil
    March 9, 2007

        Bom dia. Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. President. It's good to be back in your beautiful
    country. Laura and I really have been looking
    forward to the trip to Sao Paulo. It's one of the world's great cities.
    And I have been looking forward to our conversations. You know, Brazil
    and the United States are the two largest democracies in our hemisphere,
    and we've got a lot in common, and we've got a lot to do together to
    improve the lives of millions in our respective countries and,
    hopefully, in neighboring countries as well.
        I find it really interesting that much of our talks on this visit
    are going to be centered on energy. It's a new kind of energy. I don't
    think 20 years ago, an American President or a Brazilian President would
    have thought: Let's see; see if we can find common ground on energy
    production. And yet, as the President noted, that we had a long discussion in Brasilia about
    alternative fuels. And now we're at a plant that's actually
    manufacturing alternative fuels on an economic basis that has got the
    capacity to change our respective countries in the world. And I, like
    the President, am very upbeat about the potential of ethanol and
    biodiesel. And that's why we're here.
        I do want to thank Sergio Gabrielli, who is the president of Petrobras, for his
    hospitality. I appreciate very much your briefing. And I want to thank
    all the workers here for greeting us. I want to thank the folks from
    Ford and General Motors who are here. It's nice of them to show up to
    see the American President. I appreciate your willingness to be
    innovative and to meet market demands with products that actually
    matter, and in this case, flex-fuel vehicles.
        People have wondered why the President of the United States would be
    so interested in diversification of our energy supply, and here are the
    reasons. One, if you're dependent upon oil from overseas, you have a
    national security issue. In other words, dependency upon energy from
    somewhere else means that you're dependent upon the decisions from
    somewhere else. And so as we diversify away from the use of gasoline by
    using ethanol, we're really diversifying away from oil.
        Secondly, dependency upon oil creates an economic problem for not
    only the United States but anybody else who imports oil. In a globalized
    world, if the demand for oil goes up in China or India, it runs up the
    price of gasoline in our respective countries. And therefore,
    diversification away from oil product is in the economic interests of
    our respective countries.
        And finally, as the President
    noted, it is--we all feel incumbent to be good stewards of the
    environment. And it just so happens that ethanol and biodiesel will help
    improve the quality of the environment in our respective countries.
        And so I'm very much in favor of promoting the technologies that
    will enable ethanol and biodiesel to remain competitive and, therefore,
    affordable to the people in our respective countries and around our
    neighborhoods.
        One of the things I like, as the President noted, is that a good ethanol policy and good
    alternative fuel policy actually leads to more jobs, not less. In other
    words, at this plant, there are jobs. But as the President noted, when
    you're growing your way out of dependence on oil, you're dependent upon
    people who work the land. And the distribution of wealth, the
    distribution of opportunity to farmers, particularly the smaller farmers
    in our respective countries, will enable the economy to be more on firm
    foundation.
        And so, Mr. President, your
    vision is absolutely correct. I appreciate so very much

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    the fact that here you--much of your energy is driven by sugarcane. It
    frankly gives Brazil a tremendous advantage in the world markets.
    Sugarcane is by far the most efficient raw material for the production
    of ethanol. The President has wisely invested in technologies that will
    increase your yields per acre, and that makes a lot of sense. In
    America, we've got a little different issue: we don't have a lot of
    sugarcane. And so our stock material, our base material for ethanol thus
    far, has been corn.
        I appreciate very much the innovation that's taking place here in
    Brazil. I mean, if you're the leader in ethanol, I believe you'll
    continue to come up with technologies that should be available for
    others. Your H-BIO process for refining biodiesel from soy and other
    agricultural products is such an example. In other words, you'll be able
    to use regular refinery as a result of the technological developments
    that you've done here. And that makes a lot of sense. And I congratulate
    you, Mr. President, and,
    Petrobras, for staying on the leading edge of technological change.
        A lot of people wonder whether or not it makes sense to develop an
    alternative-fuel infrastructure if the automobile doesn't stay up with
    it. Well, most people in America don't know that there are millions of
    flex-fuel vehicles on our street today; just people don't know it. In
    other words, we have now got the capacity to manufacture automobiles in
    a way that meets the demands for ethanol. Flex-fuel means you can either
    use gasoline or alternative fuels--your choice. And in America, we are--
    that technology is available. So my fellow citizens shouldn't fear the
    development of an alternative source of energy industry because the
    consumer has got the capacity to buy an automobile that will meet those
    new productions.
        I'm very optimistic that America can benefit from alternative energy
    sources, so optimistic that I laid out an ambitious goal for our
    country, and that is to reduce gasoline consumption by 20 percent over
    10 years. In other words, we have a mandated fuel standard of 35 billion
    gallons of alternative fuels to be used by 2017. That is now seven times
    more the amount of alternative fuels we're using. Right now we're using
    about 5 billion gallons of ethanol. I believe that the technologies will
    be such that America will be consuming 35 billion gallons of alternative
    fuels. And that's important for our country. It is a commitment to
    becoming less dependent on oil, and it's a commitment to be better
    stewards of the environment.
        In my budget, Mr. President, I
    proposed to Congress that we invest $1.6 billion over 10 years on
    additional research to make sure that we can have alternative fuel
    stocks to make ethanol. Just so you know, in the last years--so long as
    I've been the President--we spent about $12 billion on new technologies
    that will enable us to achieve economic independence, as well as be
    better stewards of the environment.
        There's a lot we can do together. I appreciate so very much the idea
    of Brazil and America sharing research and development opportunities.
    You've got great scientists; we've got great scientists. It makes sense
    for us to collaborate for the good of mankind. And part of our
    initiative is that we are going to work together efficiently and to
    cooperate on research and development.
        I also think the President's
    idea of helping others realize the benefits of alternative fuels makes a
    lot of sense. And so we applaud the Inter-America Development Bank, its
    efforts to try to get loans and capital into countries that could
    benefit from alternative sources of energy. I'm particularly anxious to
    work with the President on helping Central America become less dependent
    on oil, become energy self-sufficient. It's in the interest of the
    United States that there be a prosperous neighborhood. And one way to
    help spread prosperity in Central America is for them to become energy
    producers, not become--

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    not remain dependent on others for their energy sources.
        And finally, the President
    mentioned the fact that at the United Nations, there was a International
    Biofuels Forum. What he didn't tell you: it was his idea. And I applaud
    the fact, Mr. President, that you put that idea out. It makes a lot of
    sense for countries like China and India to understand the potentials of
    alternative sources of energy. And I believe that Brazil and the United
    States has got the capacity to help lead the way toward that better day.
        So, Mr. President, it has been
    a great first meeting here. I appreciate the fact that you're about to
    buy me lunch. I'm kind of hungry. [Laughter] Looking forward to eating
    some of that good Brazilian food.
        But in the meantime, I hope the citizens of Brazil, like the
    citizens of the United States, are as optimistic about the future as
    these two Presidents are. And one
    reason we're optimistic is because we see the bright and real potential
    for our citizens being able to use alternative sources of energy that
    will promote the common good.
        So, Mr. President, thank you
    for having me.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:22 a.m. The transcript released by the
    Office of the Press Secretary also included the remarks of President
    Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil. The Office of the Press Secretary
    also released a Spanish language transcript of these remarks.