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 …
THE global price of basic food commodities and products has increased rapidly over the past three years resulting in increased food insecurity. In Africa, for example, social cohesion, peace and stability, as well as the encouraging economic gains among others, are at risk.
Why a verdant New Deal would be a bad deal Two pressing problems face the world: economic meltdown and global warming. Conveniently, a solution presents itself that apparently solves both: governments should invest heavily in green technology, thus boosting demand while transforming the energy business. This notion is gaining credence …
Eight developing nations warned the European Union on Thursday they could file a World Trade Organisation complaint over what they see as unfair barriers being raised against their biofuels. The EU, which is currently fine-tuning its biofuel regulations, should steer away from dictating where developing nations can grow biofuels and …
It is not often that an issue approved by the Cabinet, after having been vetted by a group of ministers (GoM), is sent back to the GoM for review. But such has been the fate, for understandable reasons, of the national policy on bio-fuels which was formally okayed by the …
A reddish microbes found in the rainforests of Patagonia could unlock the biofuel of the future, say scientists. Its potential Is so starting that the discoverers have coined the term
New Delhi: The Centre is back to the drawing board on the national bio-fuel policy, with warnings emerging that it had jumped the gun by paving the way for commercial expansion of the alternative fuel without plugging the techno-economic gaps in the largely untested sector through an experimental phase. Even …
Cereals are by far the most important source of food throughout the world, either directly for human consumption or indirectly in the form of animal feed for livestock products consumed as food. With world population set to rise to nine billion by 2050, there is an urgent need to examine …
This agrofuel watch guideline is supposed to be applied for monitoring of the status of the right to food in the context of expansions of agro-fuel at community level. The study includes Case studies of Violations of Right to Food due to Agro-fuel Cultivation in India. The incidence and analysis …
Biofuels are being touted as a solution to rising fuel prices, growing energy demands, and the need to curb emissions of greenhouse gases. Governments have good reasons for promoting biofuels. Yet, a headlong rush into growing biofuel crops will bring its own problems. Unless planned properly, biofuel crops are likely …
Climate change is a challenge facing human life. It will change mobility and asks for new energy solutions. Bioenergy has gained increased attention as an alternative to fossil fuels. Energy based on renewable sources may offer part of the solution. Bio ethanol based on sugar cane offers advantages to people, …
The agricultural sectors of developing Asian countries are experiencing two important new developments: the growth of organic agriculture (OA) and the increasing use of land to grow energy crops (biofuels). This policy brief summarizes the pros and cons of OA and biofuel and makes policy recommendations based on a detailed …
This study comprehensively summarises the current status of transport biofuels and related technologies in the Australian context, to provide input to formulation of government policy development and to assist in guiding future research priorities. Biofuels potentially play a major part in a range of policy areas: energy security, through the …
Renewable energy offers the planet a chance to reduce carbon emissions, clean the air, and put the civilization on a more sustainable footing. It also offers countries around the world the chance to improve their energy security and spur economic development. So much has happened in the renewable energy sector …
biological sciences Water bears in space Life for a certain kind of tiny invertebrates is possible in space. About 1.5 mm long water bears were found to survive there, a European Space Agency (esa) experiment showed. This makes the eight-legged invertebrates, also called tardigrade, the first animals known to survive …
EU sets target for non-food biofuel The European Parliament recently voted to limit the use of food crops as biofuel. It proposed that at least 4 per cent of the total biofuel used in vehicular transport should come from non-food crops, dubbed second generation biofuels. It can also come from …
Biofuels for good: The emerging biofuels industry in the us could require as much land by 2050 as is currently farmed for food, said a report by a group of 22 international scientists in the October 3 issue of Science magazine. The scientists stated that the biofuels industry, if managed …
The government subsidises diesel to appease electorate, but there is also a brighter side of this appeasement policy. Diesel is stated to be an efficient fuel, finds Sushmi Dey. THE interim report of the review committee on auto fuel policy, submitted to the petroleum secretary R S Pandey recently, interestingly, …
- European biofuels could receive a boost from a change in the way the European Union calculates their impact on the environment, a document shows, angering environmentalists who think they do more harm than good. The European Council document seen by Reuters on Wednesday also annoyed European biodiesel producers who …
