New Delhi. On September 9, India made a big announcement during the G-20 – the formation of the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA). India, USA, and Brazil will be its founding members. 19 other countries will also join in to help. Now before we go into why on earth we need such an alliance, we need to understand biofuels.
What is ethanol and biodiesel?
These are called biofuels because they can be extracted from plant-based materials. Ethanol can be extracted from sugarcane. You can extract it from different varieties of corn, rice, and bamboo. Biodiesel, on the other hand, can be made from animal fat, vegetable oil, soybean oil, and even restaurant grease. What would normally be thrown away can actually be processed into something that is actually useful. Some entrepreneurs are converting the oil extracted from algae into biodiesel.
There is a big debate going on in India these days about biofuels. We want to reduce our dependence on importing barrels of oil at high prices from the Middle East and elsewhere. We are a good oil refiner but not a big producer, so we need an alternative to this black gold. We do not have large reserves of readily usable oil. By using ethanol and biodiesel, we have saved Rs 1,000 crore on imported goods.
On the other hand, biofuels do not contain any petroleum products. In the last 9 years, India seems to have saved Rs 73,000 crore in import headcount by relying on domestically produced ethanol and biodiesel. We are mixing ethanol with petrol. When you go to the fuel pump, your car is getting a hybrid blend of oil. On the other hand, we are also mixing biodiesel with conventional diesel.
In such a situation we can see how biofuels can change our destiny. By using it, we can save the precious dollars that we are wasting in the name of importing petrol and diesel. This can make the country self-sufficient in meeting some of its energy needs. Ultimately it helps to make the country self-reliant.
No wonder we have a national policy dedicated to biofuels. Recently this policy has also been amended. Things are going very well now. Initially, we aimed to mix 25% to 22% ethanol in petrol. But so far the target of 2026 has been revised. We are more confident. We have set a target of adding 5 percent biodiesel to conventional diesel by 2030.
Now one aspect is certainly saving money by reducing imports. But the flip side is that biofuels don’t contribute that much to pollution. See, 40% of the country’s pollution is caused by vehicles. At least that is what Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has said. Where ethanol burns relatively clean and reduces carbon monoxide emissions.
Why are alliances needed to advance biofuels?
Everything is fine. But why do we need a Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA)? Why can’t we do it alone? Is it in this case an OPEC-like coalition of petroleum-producing countries deciding how much biofuel to supply or not? It is important to find an answer.
The point is that India has some big ambitions for biofuels. For example, to achieve the milestone we mentioned earlier, 17 billion liters of ethanol are needed. We produce only 10 billion liters now. Currently, we actually produce only 3% of the world’s biofuel production. For this, an alliance was needed between such countries of the world who wanted to achieve the same achievement as us. This is why countries like India, America, and Brazil have come together for GBA. GBA will help access international funds for biofuel development.
It should not be forgotten that we have also planned to establish 5000 biogas plants in the country. We need help pumping it. Alliance will help us. This will help us not only to improve our technical knowledge but also to access special international funds established for this purpose. As was the case with the International Solar Alliance (ISA) – a program jointly launched by India and France in 2015. Signed by 114 countries, the agreement facilitates financing for solar projects. There is also talk of setting up an incubation center to guide and advise solar startups. They also act as advisors on government policies. Some similar goals can be achieved in the case of GBA. So if you’re hoping to meet biofuels with a global net zero emissions goal by 2050, everyone needs to join hands. We need to make more people aware of using this alternative fuel to achieve a bigger goal. Will GBA help with this?
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