Biofuels

We are proud to announce that Comment:Visions is media partner for The World Biofuels Markets Congress & Exhibition, Rotterdam 2012, helping bring together the entire value chain of the biofuels industry to do business.Read more

The World Biofuels Markets (www.worldbiofuelsmarkets.com), Europe’s largest conference and exhibition focused on biofuels, announced an interactive keynote session entitled “Food vs. Fuel: The Global Debate Continues.”Read more

Two of our commentvisions.com contributors -- Satya Das and Dr. Jonathan Trent -- spoke about oil sands and biofuels respectively at locally organised TEDx talks.Read more

This month's programme on the challenges and opportunities of biofuels production was a great opportunity to go to the front line of this fast moving sector, writes Comment Visions producer Jeremy Wilks.Read more

Who knew there would be a biofuels angle to the Royal Wedding?Read more

Biofuels are in an ambiguous position in the field of sustainable energy, and in this programme we focus on their production in an effort to understand how they can be made, what impact they have on the environment, and how they should develop in the future. Dismissed outright by some environmentalists as a polluting threat to the natural environment, biofuels are also championed by others as a necessary product to feed demand for low-carbon fuels in shipping, aviation and road freight.

Discussion: What are the opportunities and challenges in biofuels production?

Related Content:

Live debate: De-carbonised transport: with or without biofuels?

Programme: The thorny question of biofuels

Discussion: What would it take to unlock the full potential of biofuels?

We’re seeking written comments to our upcoming online discussion on: What are the opportunities and challenges in biofuels production? To contribute, please contact now Oskar Magnusson at oskar@commentvisions.com or +44 207 420 0625Read more

Comment Visions producer Jeremy Wilks continues his experiments with E85 biofuel, investing in a little black box to work some magic on his car's engine.Read more

Read more

Background

The European Commission published its new transport white paper, a strategic document that sets the tone of EU transport policy for the next decade. The main stated objective of the white paper is to make transport more sustainable, from an economic, social and environmental point of view.

Over the past decade, the environmental dimension of transport policy has grown in importance, as climate change mitigation has risen to the forefront of EU priorities.

Transport accounts for 27% of greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, a share that is set to grow. If current trends are left unchecked, growth in transport emissions could even offset reductions achieved in other sectors. If the EU is to de-carbonise its economy by 2050, this issue will have to be addressed.

Commissioner Kallas recently stated that the Commission would probably aim at a reduction of GHG emissions from 50% to 70% by 2050, compared to 1990 levels, by halving Europe’s transport sector’s reliance on oil. Linked objectives include a pledge to fully de-carbonise urban mobility, a shift of most long-distance inland freight to rail and inland waterways, and a shift of most medium-distance passenger transport to these same modes.

To achieve this, the Commission is betting heavily on technologies, with the hope that a shift to greener and smarter transport will help to establish a competitive low-carbon economy, deliver green jobs and change users’ habits.

Beyond research and development, the deployment of new technologies will depend on political will and financial resources. With investment in transport infrastructures at an all-time low, and in a context of shrinking public resources, how can this be achieved? Is the private sector ready to step in? Are national governments ready to commit? Will citizens follow?

Comment:Visions convened a high level panel of experts to debate the future of European tranport.

Related Content:

None...