This briefing paper reviews evidence of the impacts of the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) on food prices, with a focus on corn and soy, and presents new analysis on the impact of the RFS on U.S. livestock farmers. Studies examining the relationship between food prices and biofuel demand conclude …
Karan Biofuel Limited, a joint venture company of Karan Ventures Private Limited and Rajkot-based Ronak Agrotech Engineering Pvt. Ltd. has tied up with Standard Bank of Kenya for carbon credit sale. Signed for next 10 years, the agreement will allow Karan Biofuel to sell 313,000 Kenyan certified emission reductions (CER) …
A voluntary tax on tourists who visit the luxury resorts and white sands of the Maldives could raise up to $100 million a year towards the country's aim to become carbon neutral by 2020, President Mohamed Waheed said. The Maldives is made up of 1,192 low-lying islands in the Indian …
Modern stations and facilities to open at B’lore and Mysore Home and Transport Minister R Ashoka said on Friday that 13,000 BMTC buses will be operating in Bangalore city within the next decade. Ashoka was speaking after laying the foundation for a new bus station in Yelahanka old town, and …
Going green Bio-fuel bunk to come up in Hassan district in three months. A green fuel outlet, the first of its kind in the country, would be opened at Madenur in Hassan district of Karnataka in three months, B Ramakrishna, executive chairman of Karnataka State Biofuel Development Board (KSBDB), has …
Aims to unseat Maharashtra from second spot in country The State would soon dislodge Maharashtra from the second spot in biofuel production in the country, by increasing its production to 200 million litres by this year end, said Y B Ramakrishna, executive chairman of Karnataka State Biofuel Development Board (KSBDB) …
Palm oil was once touted as a social and environmental panacea — a sustainable food crop, a biofuel that could help to cut greenhouse-gas emissions and a route out of poverty for small-scale farmers. In recent years, however, a growing body of research has questioned those credentials, presenting evidence that …
The Planning Commission, Government of India has set a target of 20 per cent blending of diesel with bio-diesel by the year 2012 to reduce the wide gap between demand and supply of petroleum products. This requires cultivating bio-diesel yielding crops on 11 M.ha to yield 13 M.t. of bio-diesel …
This new ADB report focuses on exposure and vulnerability of the energy sector to climate change. It identifies adaptation options available to each source of energy generation as well as for the distribution and end use of electrical energy. This report aims to highlight and raise awareness on the exposure …
A new report commissioned by ActionAid shows that biofuel targets set by the EU will lead directly to an increase in the prices of key agricultural commodities worldwide by 2020. And – while consumers around the world will see some increases in their food-related expenditure – it will be people …
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Technology Needs Assessment (TNA) Project has released a guidebook titled “Technologies for Climate Change Mitigation: Agriculture Sector.” The guidebook describes crop and livestock management technologies and practices that contribute to climate change mitigation while improving crop productivity and reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizers. The guidebook …
The Sugarcane Breeding Institute has developed transgenic sugarcane incorporating gene constructs, said its Director, Dr N. Vijayan Nair. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of Sugarcane Breeding Institute-Indian Sugar Industry: National Interactive Workshop, Dr Nair said that it would take several years before the transgenic cane is released and commercialised. …
A biofuels company set up in Brazil by oil giant Shell has signed a landmark agreement giving up plans to buy sugar cane grown on indigenous lands. The company, Raizen, was obtaining some of the raw material for ethanol from farmers who encroached on the lands of the Guarani people …
This new report provides a comprehensive overview of renewable energy market, industry and policy developments worldwide. At least 118 countries, more than half of which are developing countries had renewable energy targets in place by early 2012, up from 109 as of early 2010. Renewable energy markets and policy frameworks …
A freshman Democratic senator thinks he may have found a way to encourage investment in wind, solar and biofuel projects without sapping too many taxpayer dollars or injecting new venom into a bitter partisan battle over energy incentives. Chris Coons will introduce legislation on Thursday that would allow a broad …
Illegally smuggled into Brazil 14 years ago, transgenic soy has proved a boon to domestic farmers and now accounts for 85 percent of total production. But five million Brazilian farmers are now locked in a legal feud with US biotech giant Monsanto, the GM soy seed manufacturer, and are refusing …
Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to evaluate the genetic diversity among populations of Jatropha curcas (L.) from different agro-climatic regions of India. Out of 305 amplified bands obtained with 30 primers, 291 were found polymorphic.
Current UN projections indicate that world population could increase by 2.25 billion people from today’s levels, reaching 9.15 billion by 2050. At the global level, agricultural production and consumption in 2050 are projected to be 60 percent higher than in 2005/07. The perceived limit to producing food for a growing …
This report describes the 2012 taxes and incentives provided by 23 countries around the world to promote renewable energy from wind, solar, biomass, geothermal and hydropower. These policies also support other areas such as increased energy efficiency, smart-grid management, biofuels, carbon capture systems and storage technologies. Content includes an introduction …
This paper analyzes the impact of large-scale expansion of biofuels on the global income distribution and poverty. A global computable general equilibrium model is used to simulate the effects of the expansion of biofuels on resource allocation, commodity prices, factor prices and household income. A second model based on worldwide …
This paper presents FAO’s work on energy in relation to specific components of the agrifood chain. It complements two recent publications, Energy-Smart Food for People and Climate Issues Paper and the policy brief, Making the Case for Energy-Smart Food. These publications presented the findings of a 2011 study commissioned by …
