The previous chapters focused on first generation biofuels. In this chapter we focus on second generation biofuels, specifically biofuels derived from cellulosic or lignocellulosic conversion. Advocates for the development of cellulosic conversion believe that second generation technology avoids many of the adverse consequences of first generation biofuels: it does not directly compete for food...

Growing reliance on food-based biofuels has created considerable controversy about their impact on food prices and the environment and led to scepticism about their sustainability. This review describes the concept of sustainability in the context of biofuels and then discusses the factors affecting the economic viability of current and next-generation biofuels and their environmental and socia...

As on today, almost whole world is dependent on fossil fuels as a source of energy. With increase in world’s population there are growing concerns about diminishing fossil fuel resources, global warming and environmental pollution; hence there is a need for search of renewable resources to bridge the gap between the supply and demand of energy and chemicals. In this respect for production of bi...

Strategies for sustainably using biofuels must be thoroughly assessed at several levels. First, the use of biofuels must comply with sustainable development’s main dimensions. Second, the use of biofuels must comply with sustainable transport’s main dimensions. Third, gains from using biofuels strategies must compare favorably to gains from other sustainable transport strategies, such as alteri...

Increasing energy use, climate change, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuels make switching to low-carbon fuels a high priority. Biofuels are a potential low-carbon energy source, but whether biofuels offer carbon savings depends on how they are produced. Converting rainforests, peatlands, savannas, or grasslands to produce food crop-based biofuels in Brazil, Southeast Asia, and ...

The interaction between biofuels and food markets remains a policy issue for a number of reasons. There is a continuing need to understand the role of biofuels in the recent spikes in global food prices. Also, there is an ongoing discussion of changes to biofuel policy as a means to cope with severe weather-induced crop losses. Lastly, there are potential interactions between food markets and a...

Rapidly growing fossil energy consumption in the transport sector in the last two centuries caused problems such as increasing greenhouse gas emissions, growing energy dependency and supply insecurity. One approach to solve these problems could be to increase the use of biofuels. Preferred feedstocks for current 1st generation biofuels production are corn, wheat, sugarcane, soybean, rapeseed an...

The quest for biorenewable energy sources is held to justify a number of government interventions, including support policies for biofuels such as those responsible for the recent rapid growth of US ethanol production. This article provides an analytical assessment of such policies. We construct a general equilibrium, open economy model that captures the rationale typically invoked to justify g...