Context

The Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) adopted a work plan focused on assessing country landscapes, drafting policy frameworks, and conducting biofuel workshops.

Biofuels and Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA)

• Immediate Goals Set at Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) Meeting: These were adopted as immediate goals during a recent meeting of the body held on the sidelines of the G20 deliberations in Brazil. The GBA has scheduled a review of these goals for July.
• India’s Proposals for Biofuel Advancement: India has suggested three potential workstreams to support biofuel trade, increase awareness in biofuels, and identify support mechanisms for enhanced adoption of biofuels.
• Uncertainty Surrounding GBA Secretariat and Governance Structure: The launch date or location of the GBA’s new secretariat could not be clarified.
  • Moreover, discussions on establishing a governance structure and charter would also take time.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA)

Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) is a multi-stake holder alliance of Governments, International Organizations and Industries launched on the sidelines of the 2023 G20 summit. It acknowledged “the importance of sustainable biofuels in our zero and low-emission development strategies” and “the establishment of a Global Biofuels Alliance.”

• Members Countries: It is an initiative by India launched with nine initiating members–India, US, Brazil, Argentina, Bangladesh, Italy, Mauritius, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates–while Canada and Singapore are observer countries. 
  • Currently, 24 members have signed up for GBA.
  • GBA Members constitute major producers and consumers of biofuels. 
  • For Example: USA (52 per cent), Brazil (30 percent) and India (3 percent), contribute about 85 per cent share in production and about 81 per cent in consumption of ethanol.
• Aim: To accelerate the worldwide adoption of biofuels by:
  • Promoting technological advancements
  • Increasing the use of sustainable biofuels
  • Establishing robust standards and certification processes through the active involvement of a wide range of stakeholders.
• Commitment to Second-Generation (2G) Ethanol Production: GBA is committed to producing second-generation (2G) ethanol, derived from agricultural waste, used cooking oil, and processed animal byproducts like fats.

Significance of Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) for India

• Catalysing Biofuel Programs: Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) will help accelerate India’s existing biofuel programs such as PM-JIVAN Yojna, SATAT, and GOBARdhan scheme.
• Increased Collaboration for Indian Industries: The alliance will focus on collaboration and will provide additional opportunities to Indian industries in the form of exporting technology and equipment. 
• Global Leadership in Climate and Sustainability: The GBA will elevate India’s status as a leader in climate and sustainability, while also strengthening its role as the representative of the Global South. 
  • India will assist in enabling lower and middle-income countries to initiate their own biofuels programs.
• Achieving Energy Transition: It is aimed at helping India’s transition to alternative fuels as the country seeks to achieve its net-zero carbon emissions goal by 2070.
  • The current daily production of biogas and compressed bio gas in India is 1151 MT. With a concerted effort in the sector, estimates suggest that this could increase to 1750 MT per day by 2025.
• Increasing Share in Global Biofuel Procurement: According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), global procurement of biofuels was around 171.2 billion liters in 2022, with India’s contribution standing at just 2.7%, equivalent to 4.6 billion liters. 
  • However, India is the third-largest ethanol producer globally, following the United States and Brazil. Aligning with Brazil and the US within GBA will help India to address this gap.
• Economic Growth: It will contribute to increased farmers’ income, creating jobs and overall development of the Indian ecosystem.

About Biofuels

The International Energy Agency (IEA) defines biofuels as “liquid fuels derived from biomass and used as an alternative to fossil fuel based liquid transportation fuels such as gasoline, diesel and aviation fuels.” Biofuels are usually liquid fuels created using organic materials, such as biomass and natural waste. Typical materials used to make biofuels are sugar cane, corn and soybeans.

Common Types of Biofuels:

• Bioethanol: It is made from fermenting sugar and starch crops such as corn, sugarcane or wheat & is used primarily as a gasoline substitute in the transportation sector.
• Biodiesel: It is made from vegetable oils, animal fats or recycled restaurant grease. This biofuel is commonly blended with diesel fuel for use in diesel engines.
• Biogas: It is produced by anaerobic digestion of organic matter like agricultural waste or sewage. It can be burnt to generate electricity or used as a fuel for vehicles.
  • Anaerobic digestion is the process of breaking down plant or animal matter by microbial action in the absence of air, to produce a gas with a high methane content) 
• Electrofuels:  Also known as e-fuels, a class of bio-synthetic fuels (E-fuels, like e-methane, e-kerosene and e-methanol), are all fuels in gas or liquid form that are produced from renewables like, from solar or wind power or decarbonised electricity. 
  • Such fuels have the potential to reduce emissions significantly, while being suitable for combustion engine applications.

Status of Biofuel Sector in India:

• Primary source: Sugar cane is the primary source of ethanol production, supplemented by food grains like maize and excess rice inventories assessed by the Food Corporation of India.
• Pricing Mechanism: India has also introduced separate pricing for maize-based ethanol and expanded to include ethanol from various sources like cotton stalks, wheat straw, rice straw, bagasse, and bamboo.
• Ethanol Blending: Ethanol blending in gasoline production and consumption in India has nearly quadrupled from 2018 to 2023, reaching almost 12 percent (equivalent to seven percent on an energy basis).
• Promotion of CBG: India has been actively promoting compressed bio-gas (CBG) as a clean fuel derived from waste. 
  • The Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) Programme has played a crucial role in establishing 46 CBG plants and the sale of around 16,164 tonnes of CBG as of March 2023.
  • India successfully conducted its first commercial passenger flight using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) blend produced domestically to address decarbonisation in the aviation sector. 
  • The Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has established the Bio-Aviation Turbine Fuel Programme Committee to further advance the programme in the country.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes

Advantages of Biofuels

• Reducing Import Dependency and Enhancing Energy Security: Biofuels, if produced with the right feedstock, can lower the dependence on fossil fuels, especially for countries such as India that rely on fossil fuel imports to meet their energy needs. 
  • India imports 85% of its oil and 50% of its natural gas requirements. Replacing some of this with biofuels can help enhance energy security and lower import bills. 
  • India has increased its ethanol blending target from 10% to 20% by 2025 instead of 2030. With this move, India is expected to save Rs. 450 billion in oil imports and 63 million tonnes of oil annually. 
• Decarbonisation of Transport Sector: Biofuels have lower emissions intensity than fossil fuels and therefore can play a crucial role in decarbonizing transport – particularly in hard-to-abate sectors such as aviation.
• Advantages Over Electric Vehicles: Compared with switching to electric vehicles(EV), biofuels can often be used in existing vehicle engines, with no or very few changes needed.
  • Biofuels can also be blended with traditional vehicle fuels such as gasoline and diesel to reduce emissions from these fuels.
• Utilization of Organic Waste: Many biofuels can be produced from waste and used in place of fossil fuels. 
  • For instance, biogas can be generated from press mud, animal waste, crop residue, and municipal waste with 45-75% methane content by volume, which can be used in cooking, heating, and power generation. 
• Solution for Stubble Burning:  Biogas can also offer a solution to stubble generation and its subsequent burning, a significant cause of air pollution. 
  • Punjab and Haryana produce a total of 25.5 million tonnes of crop stubble on average every year. This can yield 116 million cubic metres (m3) of biogas, as 10 kg of agriculture residue can produce 2.2 standard cubic metre of biogas. 
  • Producing one kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity requires only 0.75 m3 of biogas, while 0.24 m3 of biogas is sufficient per person per day of cooking.

Challenges with Biofuels

• Unsustainable Method of Biofuel Production: In India, biofuel is synonymous with first-generation (1G) ethanol which is primarily sourced from food crops. 
  • The policy target in India of achieving 20% ethanol blending with petrol (E20) by 2025-26 is expected to be met almost entirely by 1G ethanol made from sugar cane and foodgrains. 
  • Second-generation (2G) ethanol, which is made from crop wastes and residues, is unlikely to contribute much to achieving this target due to several challenges related to feedstock supply chain and scaling up.
• Environmental Impacts: Building the necessary infrastructure for biofuel production requires substantial investment and may lead to deforestation, as fertile land is converted for crop cultivation. 
  • Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC): It can also lead to the conversion of land, such as forests and wetlands, into agricultural land – a process known as indirect land use change (ILUC). 
    • This could result in increased levels of GHG in the atmosphere by reducing the presence of natural “carbon sinks” – plants and soil that can store carbon.
  • GHG Emissions from Agriculture: The agriculture sector poses significant challenges in terms of reducing direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. 
    • Thus, elevating GHG emissions from this sector to produce motor fuel to decrease GHG emissions from the transport sector creates an balancing loop that would yield minimal net benefit.
• Dependency on Surplus Crop Production Unsustainable: Global warming is expected to reduce crop yields, which means that the same area under cultivation (arable land) will produce less with time but will need to suffice for a growing population. 
  • As per the European Environment Agency, using more organic material to produce biofuels can reduce the availability of crops for food production.
• Impact on Agricultural Productivity: The increased use of water resources for growing sugarcane leads to groundwater depletion impacting agricultural productivity.

Way Forward

• Utilising Leftover/Used Cooking Oil:  The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that biodiesel made from leftover cooking oil alone could replace up to five percent of diesel use in India. 

• • Utilising around 1.5 million tonnes of potential spent cooking oil in India could cover five percent of its diesel consumption by 2027.
• Sustainable Feedstock:  There needs to be a clear focus on using sustainable feedstock for producing biofuels and on technological advancements to enable the use of advanced materials as feedstock. 
  • Sustainable’ biofuels are produced from crop residues and other wastes, with low water and GHG footprint. 
  • Ex- Exploring alternative ingredients for biofuels such as algae.
• Promoting Economies of Scale: Balancing economies of scale with the energy needs (and costs) of biomass collection and transport across large distances is a major challenge. 
  • 2G ethanol could serve as a viable sustainable fuel if production is decentralized, eliminating the need for long-distance transportation of crop residues to centralized manufacturing facilities. 
• Prioritizing Biomass Utilization: The Energy Transitions Commission, in its report titled ‘Bioresources within a Net-Zero Emissions Economy,’ suggests prioritizing biomass utilization in sectors facing a scarcity of low-carbon alternatives. 
  • Specifically, long-haul aviation and road freight industries, where full electrification may be more challenging to achieve promptly could benefit from this approach. 
  • Conversely, sectors like petrol vehicles, currently targeted for ethanol blending, may not align as closely with this recommendation.
• Role of Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA):
  • Comprehensive Guidelines for Biofuel Value Chains: It should set the guidelines for upstream (feedstock, land issues), midstream (chemical pathways for conversion) and downstream (blending and retailing) value chains.
    • This will ensure that there is no added environmental damage from biofuels. There needs to be a complete life cycle assessment of biofuels, beyond reducing end-use emissions.
  • Dynamic Goals for Forum Advancement: Forum should not be limited to being a stagnant platform. Rather, it should have specific goals to be achieved in the short and medium terms. In the context of India, immediate objectives could involve:
    • Strengthening the biomass supply chains
    • Transferring technology for the efficient production of second-generation ethanol from agricultural residue
    • Showcasing pilot-scale production facilities for SAF
    • Promoting sustainable financial support for bioenergy initiatives.
  • Leveraging Existing Consortiums: GBA must build on the work done by similar consortiums, such as the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) and the Clean Energy Ministerial Biofuture Platform. 

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

• • • The Global Biofuel Alliance (GBA) could use GBEP’s set of 24 science-based sustainability indicators for bioenergy to enable informed decision-making. 
  • Promoting Economies of Scale: The Global Biofuel Alliance could help drive innovation and technology development in establishing an efficient biomass supply chain and smaller-scale decentralised biofuel production units.