Brazil formalized on Tuesday (31/10), through a Joint Declaration, the association with the International Energy Agency (IEA) as a non-member country. The Minister of Mines and Energy, Fernando Coelho Filho, opened the ceremony with the IEA Executive Director, Fatih Birol, and Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira.

"This is the first step our country gives alongside the Agency. The Brazilian association comes timely at a time when Brazil has work to further improve its position in the global energy scenario, "said Minister of Mines and Energy Fernando Coelho Filho.

Coelho Filho also recalled that Brazil is in seventh place among the countries with the largest generation of wind energy in the world and that by 2026, the prediction of the Ten-Year Energy Plan is for Brazilian wind installed capacity to reach 25.8 GW (including generation distributed), accounting for 12.5% of the total.

The non-member country association is a way for the Agency to recognize countries with a significant role in the world energy landscape and that are not members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). With the association, Brazil is the seventh country to enter the list formed by Singapore, China, India, Indonesia, Morocco and Thailand. Considering OECD member countries, the Agency currently has 29 members.

Fatih Birol, diretor-executivo da AIE, demonstrou entusiasmo e otimismo com associação do Brasil à agência. “Desde que os registros da AIE começaram, no início da década de 1970, o Brasil tem sido um importador de petróleo. No entanto, de acordo com os dados mais recentes da AIE, tenho o prazer de confirmar que, em 2017, o Brasil alcançará pela primeira vez o status de exportador líquido. Além disso, nossa análise é de que o país está no caminho certo para exportar um milhão de barris/dia até 2022”., afirma.

Birol also emphasizes the importance of public policies. "Together, this shows that the long-term policies of the Brazilian government are bearing fruit and now serve as inspiration for other countries around the world," he points out.

Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira said that the event also consolidates the first Joint Work Program for the development of a bi-annual agenda, and reminded that in addition to the partnership with the Agency, Brazil has broadened the energy-environmental debate in major world events, citing the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 23), scheduled for early November.

The association process involved a wide and detailed work between MRE and MME, the Electric Energy Research Center (CEPEL) and the Energy Research Company (EPE), which already developed joint programs with IEA in training, debates and production information in the energy area. With the status of associate, Brazil will have a greater offer of training and courses, can receive visits from experts to make diagnoses of specific sectors, contribute with technical information and receive results from studies that did not before, among other benefits.

International Energy Agency (IEA)

Founded in 1974, the IEA represents today an important international body in the energy sector. In addition to being a platform for peer-to-peer dialogue and a state-of-the-art data exchange, the organization's mission is to ensure reliable energy supply at affordable and sustainable prices, focusing on areas of energy security, economic development, environmental awareness and engagement of an increasing number of countries. The Agency's most well-known product is the World Energy Outlook, an annual publication that is the industry's benchmark. Brazil has already been the subject of a special 113-page section in the 2013 edition.