3. Biofuels for Sustainable Development: A Global Perspective

The quest for sustainable and environment friendly energy sources has become the pressing need of the present. Declining petroleum reserves, worldwide demand for energy, and undesirable effects of greenhouse gas emissions have led to increased worldwide interests in biofuels. This has resulted in the enormous use of biofuels an alternative choice that can link energy security with environment conservation without essentially compromising with the nourishment of the people. Substantial research and development programmes in biofuels for sustainable development have been initiated by many countries. Although sustainable development does not build the world which can be said to be well equipped for the future generations, it establishes a foundation on which the future world can be built upon. Biofuels, the sustainable energy system may be regarded as a cost-effective, trustworthy, and environmental friendly system that efficiently make use of local resources. Biofuels have additionally been lumped into first-, second- and third-generational categories. We use first-generation biofuels in our fuel tanks today. However, the use of biofuels does not imply that its production, conversion and use are sustainable. Biofuels are relatively similar to hydrocarbons and feature some of the similar emission problems like that of standard fossil fuels. If proper care is taken in their production and distribution, they can, nevertheless, be more environmentally friendly. Biofuels are an inexhaustible resource since the stock can be replenished through agriculture. One of the main detractors to the use of biofuels is that setting aside land for biofuel crops means less land for food production. Some foreign countries have said that it is unethical to use crops for biofuel when global hunger is an ever present problem. This chapter emphasizes on the fact that by establishing energy management, the role of renewable energy sources and their modern advances ought to take more importance as a way for contributing energy supply and supporting energy conservation strategy, even though traditional sources, like that of oil, natural gas and coal meet maximum energy demand for the time being. The study concludes with the say that the rise in the use of biofuels at global front is inevitable. It thus focuses on the challenge to increase appreciably the production of biofuels by using innovative technologies, which are commercially viable and sustainable.