This study assesses the potential for bioenergy production using various feedstocks such as sugarcane, oil palm, and municipal solid waste in six Caribbean small island developing states – Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has sent blending targets for the country's renewable fuels program to the White House for review ahead of a fast-approaching June 1 deadline for publicly releasing its proposal, according to industry sources. The EPA has sent proposed volume requirements for 2014, 2015 and 2016 …
U.S. government delays in rolling out renewable fuels policy have stymied some $13.7 billion in investments and have prevented advanced biofuels companies from meeting mandated target volumes, according to an industry group analysis. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) slow rulemaking on the Renewable Fuel Standard program over the past …
After more than 10 years of debate, the European Parliament has today (28 April) agreed new laws to limit the use of crop-based biofuels across the continent. The new rules effectively limit the use of biofuels in the transport sector at 7%, which count towards the 10% renewable energy target …
This handbook aims to foster a better understanding of the interlinkages between international trade, the environment and the green economy. It therefore focuses on national and international trade policy and rules, on environmental governance and principles, and the relationship between both. This third edition of Environment and Trade: A Handbook …
MAKING fuel from the solar energy stored in living organisms by photosynthesis is a tempting idea. It sounds inherently green, and so biofuel schemes—ranging from fermenting starch, to recycling cooking oil, to turning algae into jet fuel—have drawn more than $126 billion in investment since 2003, according to Bloomberg New …
The EU’s dysfunctional political system is turning clean energy companies into a “zombie industry” of the living dead, the head of one of the bloc’s biggest green power groups has warned. Manuel Sánchez Ortega, chief executive of Spain’s Abengoa, said EU politicians are taking so long to decide what sort …
The European Union reached a tentative deal on Wednesday on a 7 percent limit on how much crop-based biofuel can be used in the transport sector, EU sources said. The agreement on a legal text, thrashed out by representatives of the European Commission, the parliament and member states follows years …
Brazil and Indonesia paid over $40bn in subsidies to industries that drive rainforest destruction between 2009 and 2012 - compared to $346m in conservation aid they received to protect forests, according to new research Brazil and Indonesia spent over 100 times more in subsidies to industries that cause deforestation than …
The UK transport industry must embrace biofuels if it is to meet EU decarbonisation targets, a Government-backed report has claimed. The Transport Energy Task Force concluded that there is a 'clear role for biofuels' in UK transport despite the increasing popularity of electric and hybrid vehicles. The report added that …
A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) request on Tuesday for comments from cellulosic biofuels makers raised speculation among industry analysts of further delays in the release of government-mandated renewable fuels volumes. The agency, which oversees the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program, has asked for public comments before submitting a request …
Graduate students at Mie University have produced biofuel from the region’s tangerines, saying the technique provides a use for unwanted fruit. They believe it could be promoted as a locally sourced form of renewable energy. The researchers at the university’s Graduate School of Bioresources fermented rotten and unsold fruit, and …
Hainan Airlines announced it finished China's first passenger flight with sustainable biofuel on Saturday, a milestone for the country's commercial aviation industry. The flight, which carried more than 100 passengers from Shanghai to Beijing in a Boeing 737, used biofuel made by Sinopec from waste cooking oil collected from restaurants …
The U.S. oil and gas industry has sued the Environmental Protection Agency over repeated delays in the release of 2014 and 2015 biofuel use targets, intensifying pressure on the agency to speed up its work on standards for renewable fuel. A complaint filed on Wednesday by the American Fuel and …
A European Parliamentary committee on Tuesday backed a new limit on traditional biofuels made from food crops that critics say stoke inflation and do more harm than good to the environment. Those seeking to promote a new generation of advanced biofuels made from seaweed or waste welcomed Tuesday's vote. But …
Sustainable biomass can play a transformative role in the transition to a decarbonized economy, with potential applications in electricity, heat, chemicals and transportation fuels. Deploying bioenergy with carbon capture and sequestration (BECCS) results in a net reduction in atmospheric carbon. BECCS may be one of the few cost-effective carbon-negative opportunities …
Western governments have made a wrong turn in energy policy by supporting the large-scale conversion of plants into fuel and should reconsider that strategy, according to a new report from a prominent environmental think tank. Turning plant matter into liquid fuel or electricity is so inefficient that the approach is …
Tumbling oil prices look set to hit electric cars and biofuels harder than other parts of the green power industry, the head of the world’s leading renewable energy agency has warned. That is because they compete directly with rivals such as petrol-fuelled cars that are becoming cheaper to run as …
Bioenergy production would boom and spur steep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions if a global price is slapped on carbon, Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers say in a report released. Examining bioenergy production under a $15-per-metric-ton carbon price that would rise steadily to $59 in 2050, researchers found production hitting …
Carbon-based liquid fuels are highly valued for transportation; they are the world's largest form of commercial energy and second largest source of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Strategies to address their CO2 emissions have been shaped by fuel cycle analysis (FCA), a version of lifecycle assessment that examines fuel products …
This paper shows that any dedicated use of land for growing bioenergy inherently comes at the cost of not using that land for growing food or animal feed, or for storing carbon. It recommends several policy changes to phase out forms of bioenergy that use crops or that otherwise make …
