With multi-stakeholder support spanning 19 countries, the alliance aims to triple global sustainable biofuel production by 2030
Photo: @MEAIndia / X, formerly known as Twitter At the G20 summit held on September 9, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Global Biofuel Alliance along with the President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the President of the United States Joe Biden.
With multi-stakeholder support spanning 19 countries, the alliance aims to triple global sustainable biofuel production by 2030.
It is supported by 12 international organisations including the Asian Development Bank, the International Energy Agency, the International Energy Forum, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World Bank, The International Renewable Energy Agency, the World Economic Forum, and the World Biogas Association.
The alliance also intends to work towards strengthening circular economy practices, and providing cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternatives.
Monish Ahuja, Chairman of the Confederation of Biomass Energy Industry of India told Down to Earth (DTE), “India has taken the lead along with the USA and Brazil to be the founders of the Global Biofuel Alliance on similar lines set up by the International Solar Alliance.”
“There is a concerted push to develop a biofuel economy all around the world. It is a fantastic initiative, where India is stepping up in the global order to accomplish this. We are saying we will do it ourselves while guiding other nations,” Ahuja said.
In India, the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) is leading the charge and Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri was at the forefront of the negotiations.
Part of the focus is on the facilitation of global biofuel trading. In this regard, on March 22 this year, the government eased the export of biofuel from imported feedstock to special economic zones and export-oriented units, without restriction for fuel and non-fuel purposes.
“As different ministries and different departments are running programs on biomass development in India simultaneously and as we are going for the multisectoral use for biomass, it now makes sense to bring global alliances toward bioenergy,” Ahuja told DTE.
Some biomass programs in the country include:
The MoPNG is targeting 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol by 2025 from this year.
Under the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative, it targets to set up 5,000 BioCNG plants with a production target of 15 MMT by 2023-24.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is setting up 500 new compressed biogas (CBG) plants under the GOBAR-dhan scheme.
The Ministry of Power’s Samarth Scheme aims for 5 to 7 per cent of co-firing biomass pellets, going up to 10 per cent and then up to 20 per cent for all coal power being produced from carbon-neutral biomass utilising farm agri-residue.
India plans to mandate a one per cent blending of Sustainable Aviation fuel with conventional jet fuel for all Indian airlines by 2025.
Under the ambit of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, for management of organic/wet fraction of municipal solid waste bio-methanation plants across cities was proposed in the Budget 2023-2024.
Devinder Sharma, a trade and food policy analyst said in a press release, “I thought the G-20 would have learned the critical lesson from the Bengal Famine. Food should never be diverted for activities that have nothing to do with domestic food security. Interestingly, we are getting to a stage when the food we produce will go to feed automobiles, and it will be left to companies to produce synthetic food in the labs for the human population.”
“Ethanol is likely as carbon-intensive as petroleum fuels due to carbon emissions caused by the land-use changes to grow the crops, water exploitation, and the entire process of making ethanol,” Sharma told The Third Pole.
Ahuja argued that that biomass can be used from multiple streams such as farm-agriculture residues and muncipal solid waste. There is no competition for land. However, he said, while the feedstock is available, we need to work on feedstock supply chain management.
He also added that the implementation of biomass programmes is fragmented under various ministries and the country requires a dedicated ministry, department or taskforce to execute the national leadersip under the alliance.
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