last updated 24th August 05
By 4ecotips

Governments must assess strategies

The Worldwatch Institute and Germany’s Ministry for Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture have launched a new project on the global potential and implications of large-scale use of biofuels for transportation.

“Soaring oil prices, growing security concerns, and farmers' search for new markets have combined to create a super-charged market for biofuels, boosting consumption by 70% over the past three years,” says Worldwatch Institute president Christopher Flavin. “With country after country adopting tax breaks and regulations designed to boost the use of biofuels, it is urgent that governments assess strategies for maximizing the economic, social, and environmental benefits of biofuels development.”

The project is being managed by Suzanne Hunt, the Institute's newly selected biofuels project manager. She will lead an international team of experts who will contribute the latest information and analysis to the project.

The biofuels project, aimed to be completed in July 2006, will quantify the potential for biofuels to displace petroleum fuels, and will analyze the policy instruments available for stimulating the production and use of biofuels. The project will include in-depth analysis of the world's biofuels leaders—particularly Brazil, Germany, and the United States.

The project will also assess the broader impacts of large-scale development of biofuels, focusing on the implications for the size of farms, the health of rural communities, the energy and chemical requirements of agriculture, impacts on rural landscapes and biodiversity, air and water quality, climate change, and international trade balances.

The project is intended to provide policy makers with concrete guidance on ways to minimize the costs and maximize the benefits of biofuels development—seeking to develop a vision and policy agenda that are consistent with a transition to sustainable energy and agriculture.