Will biofuels emerge from the renewables shadows?
Despite ambitious transport fuel targets and strong growth in biofuel demand, bioenergy has failed to get the publicity it warrants
The International Energy Agency (IEA) labels bioenergy an industry blind spot, critical to the sector's evolution, but receiving less attention than it merits. The agency argues that the world's largest current source of renewable energy, and the one forecast to have the strongest five-year growth trend, deserves more prominence. The breadth of the sector is one factor in its relative obscurity—from wood and charcoal in developing world heating, through wood pellets and chips and agricultural wastes in power generation, to biofuels in the transport sector. Advanced biofuels, from sources as diverse as used cooking oil and genetically modified algae, add to the complexity. "Modern bioenergy i
Also in this section
29 April 2024
Decarbonisation push and shifting multilateral trade policy sharpens continent’s need for carbon trading
29 April 2024
Canada’s oil sands producers need policy certainty to make the multibillion-dollar investments needed to achieve net zero, Pathways Alliance president Kendall Dilling tells Carbon Economist
25 April 2024
Carbon capture rates forecast to rise steadily from end of decade, but policy tools to drive large-scale deployment have yet to take shape, according to DNV
23 April 2024
Europe must unlock cross-border CO₂ trade if it wants to build a viable CCS sector for the long term