BIOFUELS FOR TRANSPORTATION AND SUSTAINABLE FARMING

Sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the report - Biotuels for Transportation - assesses opportunities and risks in large-scale development of hiofuels. Information is included from studies on hiofuel use in Brazil, China, Germany, India and Tanzania. Biofuels could provide

37 percent of U.S. transport fuel within the next 25 years, and up to 75 percent if automohile fuel economy doubles. Biofuels could replace 20 to 30 percent of the oil used in European Union countries during the same time frame. "It is essential that government incentives be used to minimize competition between food and fuel crops and to discourage expansion onto economically valuable lands," says Worldwatch Biofuels Project Manager Suzanne Hunt.

Policies to accelerate biofuels development - including use of municipal and agricultural wastes and cellulose-rich energy crops - are recommended in the report such as: Strengthening the market; Speeding transition to next-generation technologies; Protecting the resource base of ecosystem services; and Facilitating sustainable international biofuel trade. The report was released by The Worldwatch Institute in collaboration with the German Agencies for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and Renewable Resources (FNR). For more information on report, visit: www.worldwatch.org.