REPORT: BIOFUELS POISED TO DISPLACE OIL

  • From: "Blue Ridge Clean Fuels" <brcfi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "VA Biofuels Forum list" <biofuels-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2006 08:55:16 -0400

Published on Worldwatch Institute (http://www.worldwatch.org)

REPORT: BIOFUELS POISED TO DISPLACE OIL
By Worldwatch Institute
Created Jun 7 2006 - 10:38am

[0] WASHINGTON, D.C.?Biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel can
significantly reduce global dependence on oil, according to a new report by
the Worldwatch Institute, released in collaboration with the German Agencies
for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and Renewable Resources (FNR).

Last year, world biofuel production surpassed 670,000 barrels per day, the
equivalent of about 1 percent of the global transport fuel market. Although
oil still accounts for more than 96 percent of transport fuel use, biofuel
production has doubled since 2001 and is poised for even stronger growth as
the industry responds to higher fuel prices and supportive government
policies. ?Coordinated action to expand biofuel markets and advance new
technologies could relieve pressure on oil prices while strengthening
agricultural economies and reducing climate-altering emissions,? says
Worldwatch Institute President Christopher Flavin.

The new report, Biofuels for Transportation: Global Potential and
Implications for Sustainable Agriculture and Energy in the 21st Century [0],
sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer
Protection (BMELV), is a comprehensive assessment of the opportunities and
risks associated with the large-scale international development of biofuels.
It includes information from existing country studies on biofuel use in
Brazil, China, Germany, India, and Tanzania.

Brazil is the world?s biofuel leader, with half of its sugar cane crop
providing more than 40 percent of its non-diesel transport fuel. In the
United States, where 15 percent of the corn crop provides about 2 percent of
the non-diesel transport fuel, ethanol production is growing even more
rapidly. This surging growth may allow the U.S. to overtake Brazil as the
world?s biofuel leader this year. Both countries are now estimated to be
producing ethanol at less than the current cost of gasoline.

Figures cited in the report reveal that biofuels could provide 37 percent of
U.S. transport fuel within the next 25 years, and up to 75 percent if
automobile fuel economy doubles. Biofuels could replace 20?30 percent of the
oil used in European Union countries during the same time frame.

As the first-ever global assessment of the potential social and
environmental impacts of biofuels, Biofuels for Transportation [0] warns
that the large-scale use of biofuels carries significant agricultural and
ecological risks. ?It is essential that government incentives be used to
minimize competition between food and fuel crops and to discourage expansion
onto ecologically valuable lands,? says Worldwatch Biofuels Project Manager
Suzanne Hunt. However, the report also finds that biofuels have the
potential to increase energy security, create new economic opportunities in
rural areas, and reduce local pollution and emissions of greenhouse gases.

The long-term potential of biofuels is in the use of non-food feedstock that
include agricultural, municipal, and forestry wastes as well as
fast-growing, cellulose-rich energy crops such as switchgrass. It is
expected that the combination of cellulosic biomass resources and
?next-generation? biofuel conversion technologies?including ethanol
production using enzymes and synthetic diesel production via
gasification/Fischer-Tropsch synthesis?will compete with conventional
gasoline and diesel fuel without subsidies in the medium term.

The report recommends policies to accelerate the development of biofuels,
while maximizing the benefits and minimizing the risks. Recommendations
include:

·       Strengthen the Market. Biofuel policies should focus on market
development, based on sound fiscal incentives and support for private
investment, infrastructure development, and the building of transportation
fleets that are able to use the new fuels.
·       Speed the Transition to Next-Generation Technologies. It is critical to
expedite the transition to the next generation of biofuel feedstock and
technologies, which will allow for dramatically increased production at
lower cost, while minimizing environmental impacts.
·       Protect the Resource Base. Maintaining soil productivity, water quality,
and myriad other ecosystem services is essential. National and international
environmental sustainability principles and certification systems are
important for protecting resources as well as maintaining public trust in
the merits of biofuels.
·       Facilitate Sustainable International Biofuel Trade. Continued rapid 
growth
of biofuels will require the development of a true international market in
these fuels, unimpeded by the trade restrictions in place today. Freer
movement of biofuels around the world should be coupled with social and
environmental standards and a credible system to certify compliance.


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