Biofuels have been hailed as key to reducing our fossil-fuel dependence, yet their environmental and social impacts remain uncertain. A complex task lies ahead for policy makers.
Thirty five years of experience has taught one of the world's leading biofuels producers several essential lessons, which other countries should heed, says Marcia Moraes.
Jean Claude Gandur, a Swiss commodities trader, made a fortune during the 1990s buying oil concessions in Africa that others did not want or could not hold.
Now a billionaire, he is poised to swim against the tide again with a major expansion into ethanol in Sierra Leone, the West African country still recovering from a decade-long civil war that ended in 2002.
Brazil's government unveiled new financing and other incentives for sugar cane ethanol production on Monday, vowing to work closely with the private sector to boost production in an industry that has struggled recently despite its immense promise.
The state-run development bank BNDES announced that it would provide 30 billion to 35 billion reais ($19 billion to $22 billion) to finance expansion
Scientists in Australia claim that they are developing a new and more powerful bio-fuel from feedstock - raw materials for the paper industry - which could fuel the aviation industry in the not too distant future.
A team at the University of Sydney, led by Professor Thomas Maschmeyer, behind the cutting-edge research, says that the process uses what is known as "lignocellulosic feedstocks" source
Changes in developed country biofuel policy are some of the key recommendations of an intergovernmental organization report to the G20, a group of leading economies. This paper provides in-depth analysis on the relationship between biofuel policy in the US and food price volatility. In addition, it identifies options that are available to decision-makers for addressing any adverse effects.
