The Charcoal Dilemma

This book examines the history of charcoal production and its chief industrial applications - pig-iron and steel making. It argues for the need for economic and environmental sustainability as the means to ensure the future of the industry. Brazil faces serious socio-economic, environmental and financial pressures to change and innovate - a painful adjustment to falling demand, overcapacity, greater competition with coke, and stricter environmental control. There are important lessons to be learned from this Brazilian experience, from forest management to industrial production and use of charcoal. Brazil's experience is of interest to many other charcoal-producing countries, particularly as an example of natural resource and management use, given its many socio-economic and environmental ramifications.