Report on Biofuels and Bioproducts: an Irreplaceable Tool for Sustainable Development

On 10^th December, the document Creating the Biofuture: A Report on the State of the Low Carbon Bioeconomy was published. The report was commissioned by the Biofuture Platform – a multi-stakeholder initiative created to support the development of the sustainable, low carbon bioeconomy. Furthermore, the report was done based on insights and data from 19 countries, including Brazil, USA, Argentina and China, and the European Commission.

The report states that the world’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction goals cannot be met without greater use of biofuels and bioproducts. It also presents a range of barriers which limit the development and deployment of biofuel and bioproduct markets. Among these barriers are the high capital costs associated with investments in biofuel plants/biorefineries, as well as the perceived risks associated with investments in the sector and unfavorable policy frameworks.

Approximately 131 billion liters of biofuels are produced annually around the world. This represents a market worth ~USD  170  billion/year (Zion Market Research, 2017), primarily from first-generation ethanol and biodiesel. Nevertheless, global investment in biofuels production has sharply declined in recent years, in spite of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the targets established by several countries to reduce GHG emissions. Bioenergy and bioproducts can play a major role in the transition towards a low carbon economy. Moreover, they are an indispensable component within the portfolio of low carbon technologies which needs to be deployed to reach these goals.

Sidera is committed to achieving a greener future. Hence, we are involved in projects that support bioproducts. Thus, we are on hand to tackle the barriers presented in this new report, either through the attraction of new investments to the biofuel field or the reshaping of policy frameworks.

-Luana Almeida