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 …
This report surveys the publicly available estimates of subsidies to biofuels and conventional liquid transport fuels, including both consumption subsidies and the production subsidies provided to the oil industry. This report: reviews the information currently available for each fuel type; describes the principal methods for quantifying subsidies; identifies the major …
Palm oil expansion in Southeast Asia is strongly associated with conversion and degradation of peatland. Find that past studies have generally significantly underestimated emissions from palm oil grown on peatland. In particular, this will have resulted in underestimation of the indirect land use change emissions from many biofuels. Suggest that …
With the rapid growth of biofuel production and consumption and the proliferation of policy decisions supporting this expansion, concerns about the biofuel sector’s environmental and social impacts are increasing. Consequently, a range of actors – among them governments, multilateral institutions, nongovernmental organisations and multistakeholder industry groups – have created sustainability …
Germany's government and its oil industry association on Tuesday disagreed about whether the country can reach its 2011 biofuel use quotas as sales of a new gasoline blend with a higher biofuel content remain sluggish. The German government this year raised the maximum permitted level of bioethanol blended in gasoline …
It could reduce the pressure on native forests but the rapid expansion in bamboo plantations is in danger of making it the latest in a long line of tarnished 'wonder crops'
Lax trade restrictions and high sugar prices should allow the United States to overtake Brazil in ethanol exports during the second half of 2011, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. During the first five months of 2011 U.S. ethanol exports more than doubled from the same period last …
U.S. ethanol production bounced back in the last week with good demand helping offset high prices for key ingredient corn. The Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that U.S. ethanol production totaled 904,000 barrels per day, up 5,000 barrels per day from the previous week. "Production is up because demand …
Generating energy from crops instead of oil and coal can have counterproductive effects. “The use of biomass can lead to additional emissions of greenhouse gases”, says lead author Alexander Popp of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK). “This is the case if forests get cut down to plant …
The US President, Mr Barack Obama, today highlighted the need to develop biofuels out of things that do not involve fuel chain, arguing that increase in demand from India and China would drive up the food prices. “As you see more and more demand placed on our food supplies around …
The Obama administration on Tuesday announced a $510 million initiative to boost the production of next-generation biofuels. Under the plan sponsored by the Navy, Energy and Agriculture departments, companies will be invited to bid on new biofuel projects where the government will match the investment. "The President understands that for …
This report provides an overview of new and renewable sources of energy, detailing their current status and prospects for deployment. It also describes the efforts for the promotion of new and renewable energy at the national and international levels, as well as options for coordinated global energy strategies.
Petrobras, Brazil’s state-run oil company, plans to almost triple its share of the country’s ethanol production by 2015, staking its claim to one of the world’s leading alternative energy markets. Foreign oil companies such as Shell and BP have piled into the industry this year, vying for an ever greater …
The Indian government will oppose the European Union’s proposal to make airlines buy carbon credits for using its airspace on the grounds that it is unilateral and unfair on carriers from developing countries. EU’s proposal to cap planetwarming gases under its emission trading system (ETS) makes it mandatory for airlines …
It has been estimated that the number of hungry people in the world rose from 820 million in 2007 to more than a billion in 2009, following a spike in food prices; and that while this figure may since have dropped to about 900 million, about 16 percent of the …
Renewable, sustainable sources of energy are an essential part of the transition to a low carbon, resource-efficient Green Economy. All forms of energy have, to a greater or lesser extent, an impact on water resources, and the relation between water and bioenergy (renewable energy derived from organic materials such as …
This paper examines the linkages between the energy sector and forests at local to global levels, covering wood fuel use and the competition for land between forests and biofuel feedstock crops. The paper suggests a number of policy options that may be part of a REDD+ strategy that also contributes …
The emergence of biofuel as a renewable energy source offers opportunities for climate change mitigation and greater energy security for many countries. At the same time, biofuel represents the possibility of substitution between energy and food. For developing countries like India, which imports over 75% of its crude oil, fossil …
Passing carbon dioxide through slag left over from steel-making turns the waste product into a strong material that can be used for construction. Pumped into greenhouses, it provides a growing boost for crops. Put into tanks of algae, it can be used to make biofuels. Waste carbon dioxide can even …
Cellulosic biomass is an abundant and underused substrate for biofuel production. The inability of many microbes to metabolize the pentose sugars abundant within hemicellulose creates specific challenges for microbial biofuel production from cellulosic material. Although engineered strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae can use the pentose xylose, the fermentative capacity pales in …
A dream climate change cure to turn planet-warming greenhouse gases into useful products from jet fuel to plastics will take years to develop from the lab and pilot projects, a report found on Thursday. Pilot projects already use carbon dioxide (CO2) to feed plants, for example to boost tomatoes in …
