World ethanol organisations issue joint statement on the biofuels future

In conjunction with F.O. LICHT´S World Ethanol 2007 conference being held in Amsterdam this week, leaders of the world’s largest ethanol production and trade associations issued a joint statement on the necessity of developing a robust and vibrant renewable biofuels industry around the globe.

The following statement was issued jointly by Gordon Quaiattini, President, Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, Canada; Robert Vierhout, Secretary General, European Bioethanol Fuel Association (eBIO), European Union; Bob Dinneen, President, Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), United States; and, Marcos Jank, President, Sugar Cane Industry Association (UNICA), Brazil:

"Renewable fuels must be a central component of a global strategy to lessen reliance on fossil fuels, to mitigate the impacts of global climate change, and to provide real economic opportunity for rural residents in every country on Earth.

• First, as oil prices soar to US$100 per barrel and declining petroleum reserves become ever more costly to extract, it is vital that we move quickly to expand the production and availability of biofuels such as ethanol. A renewable biofuel, ethanol contributes to global fuel diversity and security, particularly when considering that the current alternatives are fossil fuels from the wartorn Middle East and other dangerous regions of the world.
• Second, today’s global ethanol industry is contributing to a more sustainable energy future unlike any other fuel in history. The use of renewable fuels such as ethanol significantly reduces the emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants that lead to global warming.
• Third, ethanol will continue to create economic opportunity for farmers in developed and developing countries and who are often most affected by low world agricultural prices. Enhanced rural development means improved income, less pressure on urban areas, and greater opportunities to the world’s poorest who often pay the greatest penalty for high energy prices.

The success achieved by the world’s ethanol industry is in and of itself a good story. But the narrative does not stop here. The rapid evolution of the world ethanol industry is quickly yielding new technologies that are improving production efficiencies at existing biorefineries and introducing diverse new feedstocks such as grasses, bagasse, straw, wood chips and other biomass into the ethanol and bioelectricity generation production process:
energy :: sustainability :: biomass :: bioenergy :: biofuels :: ethanol :: cellulose :: efficiency :: climate change ::

By continuing to work together and sharing ideas, these new technologies promise not only to increase ethanol production where it already exists but to make the benefits of ethanol production available in more countries.

Together with the world’s farmers and entrepreneurs, we can continue to feed as well as begin renewably fueling humankind.

Through cooperation and technology, we can responsibly and sustainably increase the production and use of renewable fuels and encourage others to take the essential first steps toward a more secure and stable energy and environmentally sensible future."

References:
RFA: World Ethanol Industry Speaks Out: Ethanol Key to Energy Security, Environmental Future - November 8, 2007.