Today biofuels, and specifically
ethanol are drawing renewed attention as an alternate to petroleumderived
gasoline in order to address energy security, energy costs, and global warming
concerns associated with liquid fossil fuels. It is noteworthy to take into
consideration the emerging era of rapid transformation in the way in which
economic and social development is being undertaken. Specifically, the
significant growth in the transportation sector has seen a corresponding increase
in demand for energy and fuel. Globally, transportation systems are generally
dependent on fossil fuels, which have a significantly more harmful effect on
the environment. It is not surprising that most periods of accelerated
industrial development have been correlative to the international price of
crude oil. However, the increased attention to environment and climate change
has propelled innumerable new approaches that can incentivise the application
of long-time dormant technologies. One such example is the development of the
biomass and biofuel industry, which is increasingly being seen as one of the
solutions to energy insecurity. Moreover, many countries, developed and
developing, have attempted to shift from a fossil fuel dependent economy to a
biofuel based economy as a sustainable alternative. Biofuel is a renewable fuel
that is produced through biological processes, such as agriculture and
anaerobic digestion, rather than geological processes, such as those involved
in the production of fossil fuels.
Biofuels can be derived directly from
plants, or indirectly from agricultural, commercial, domestic and industrial
wastes. Renewable biofuels generally involve contemporary carbon fixation, such
as those that occur in plants or microalgae through the process of
photosynthesis. The most commonly used biofuel is ethanol, which is produced
from various feedstocks, such as sugarcane, maize and cassava. The United
States and Brazil, as the largest producers of ethanol have adopted robust
policy measures for the promotion of ethanol in the transportation sector with
a view to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Similar policy approaches need to
be tailored to India’s needs in order for it to move India’s rapidly expanding
transportation towards greener alternatives. The key to leveraging the
economic, social and environmental benefits of ethanol would require India to
develop flexible strategies aimed at incentivising industry and consumers to
shift towards broader adoption of ethanol, bother as an oxygenate and as an
alternate. As this paper discusses, the social benefits of a broader biofuel
programme include an expansion in livelihood opportunities. Similarly, economic
benefits include significant opportunities across the value chain for farmers,
and expansion of industrial development.
The environmental benefits are
significant as well, wider ethanol usage has shown to substantially reduce
harmful emissions and consequently improve air quality. In the above said
background, this paper has covered in its first chapter the background and
history of the adoption of ethanol blending in India. The second chapter of
this paper highlights some of the challenges to EBP program and different
issues ranging from imposition of varied taxes upon the interstate movement of ethanol,
procedural difficulties and legislative and administrative issues in India. The
third chapter has explored some of the potential economic and environmental
advantages of adoption of ethanol as a biofuel in India. The fourth chapter
documents global best practices and analyses the experience of three countries
in specific: the United States, the Philippines and Brazil. The final chapter
sets out policy recommendations based on the roadblocks and hurdles identified
in Chapter II, and further provides a comprehensive roadmap for the broader
adoption of biofuels in the country. It is necessary to note that, in view of
India’s rapid economic growth, energy demand will continue to rise rapidly in
the coming decades. There is no going back on the path and pace of economic
progress that India has chosen for itself, especially after globalization.
The
increasing consumer demand of a developing nation add stress on limited sources
of energy of any nation. In order to meet these increasing demands, it is important
that a gradual shift from fossil fuels to renewable fuels is made. However,
this process is slow and expensive, and therefore it would be necessary to make
appropriate investments that are aimed at increasing efficiency of existing
sources of energy while, in parallel, enabling a shift towards sustainable
resources. India’s National Policy on Biofuels, 2009 does reflect these
concerns and charts out ambitious goals in this regard. However, there is a
need to ensure that implementation of these programs accounts for broader
administrative and policy priorities, especially in the agricultural and
transportation sectors. In this context, this expert paper aims to present
pragmatic measures and interventions that are specifically aimed at
operationalizing the objectives of this expert paper.
The report was released on 8th December, 2016 by
YB Ramakrishna, Chairman working group on Biofuels , Ministry of Petroleum
& Natural Gas Govt. of India.
The said report is the outcome of the joint project done by PLR Chambers, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun and CSTEP ( Center of Study of Science Technology & Policy) Bangaluru.
The report is much appreciated and published
by almost all the renowned national dailies like, The
Hindu Business Line , Times
of India , Economic
Times to name a few. However if you are interested to read the
full report please
click here .
