The discovery of potentially massive reserves of oil and gas off its coast in 2007 seems set to transform the country’s position as an energy superpower and the government says it plans to join Opec in the near future. However, Brazil already sources most of its electricity from hydroelectric dams and most cars in the country have the option to use ethanol as fuel, which can be sourced from sugar cane.

As a result, the Latin American giant appears to be perfectly set up to deal with the energy challenges of the next century.