NEW DELHI – Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday the launch of Global Biofuel Alliance and invited other world leaders to join the initiative, during the first day of G20 Summit in New Delhi, India.
India’s proposal for setting up a Global Biofuels Alliance was on cards to help accelerate energy transition. The Global Biofuels Alliance, which the world’s third biggest oil consumer wants to push during its G20 presidency, mirrors the International Solar Alliance (ISA) piloted by New Delhi and Paris in 2015 to bring clean and affordable solar energy within the reach of all.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told PTI in an exclusive interview that India’s proposal for a global alliance on biofuels among members of the Group of 20 major economies will help accelerate sustainable biofuels deployment in support of the global energy transition.
“Such alliances are aimed at creating options for developing countries to advance their energy transitions,” he had said.
“Biofuels are also important from the perspective of a circular economy. Markets, trade, technology, and policy – all aspects of international cooperation are crucial in creating such opportunities,” Modi had said.
Biofuel is a renewable source of energy which is derived from biomass. India, which imports over 85 percent of its crude oil needs, is gradually building capacity to produce fuel from items including crop stubble, plant waste and municipal solid waste.
While India is on schedule to double the mixing of ethanol extracted from sugarcane and agriculture waste to 20 percent with petrol by 2025, dozens of compressed biogas (CBG) plants are being set up.
The Global Biofuels Alliance is aimed at facilitating cooperation and intensifying the use of sustainable biofuels, including in the transportation sector. Its focus is primarily on strengthening markets, facilitating global biofuel trade, developing concrete policy lesson-sharing and providing technical support for national biofuel programs worldwide.
Such an initiative is also aimed at helping India’s transition to alternative fuels and cutting its import bill, as it seeks to achieve its net zero carbon emissions goal by 2070.
On the other hand, the ISA aims to mobilize more than US$1,000 billion of investment needed by 2030 for the massive deployment of solar energy.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that global sustainable biofuel production would need to triple by 2030 to put the world’s energy system on track towards net zero emissions by 2050.
Liquid biofuels provided more than 4 percent of the total transport energy supply in 2022.
Chandrajit Banerjee, director general, CII, said the establishment of the Global Biofuels Alliance is seen as a crucial step to ease the transition to sustainable energy sources. This cooperative initiative unites a diverse range of stakeholders from investors, research institutions, governments, and industry experts to foster the production and usage of sustainable biofuels. The Alliance presents an integrated approach promoting economic growth, social development, and environmental sustainability.
The Alliance’s mandate is centered on ensuring that the production of biofuels does not compete with essential food crops and its conversion process does not exploit non-renewable resources or degrade the environment. This is achieved through the institution of mechanisms and policies that uphold the sustainable production and use of biofuels.
Shishir Joshipura, co-chair, CII National Bioenergy Committee and Managing Director & CEO, Praj Industries, said, “GBA will help accelerate inclusive energy transition for a sustainable world. Adoption of Bioeconomy has multiple advantages for all economies especially due to its with deep and positive social, livelihood and environmental benefits. India’s leadership across policy, technology and ecosystem development can benefit the larger world and help include the Global South in this important journey. We applaud the G20 leadership for this landmark development.”
The G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration on Saturday recognized the importance of sustainable biofuels in zero and low- emission development strategies while taking note of the setting up of a Global Biofuels Alliance. (*)
