Rajagopal, DeepakZilberman, David2012-06-062012-06-062007-09https://hdl.handle.net/10986/7337The world is witnessing a sudden growth in production of biofuels, especially those suited for replacing oil like ethanol and biodiesel. This paper synthesizes what the environmental, economic, and policy literature predicts about the possible effects of these types of biofuels. Another motivation is to identify gaps in understanding and recommend areas for future work. The analysis finds three key conclusions. First, the current generation of biofuels, which is derived from food crops, is intensive in land, water, energy, and chemical inputs. Second, the environmental literature is dominated by a discussion of net carbon offset and net energy gain, while indicators relating to impact on human health, soil quality, biodiversity, water depletion, etc., have received much less attention. Third, there is a fast expanding economic and policy literature that analyzes the various effects of biofuels from both micro and macro perspectives, but there are several gaps. A bewildering array of policies - including energy, transportation, agricultural, trade, and environmental policies - is influencing the evolution of biofuels. But the policies and the level of subsidies do not reflect the marginal impact on welfare or the environment. In summary, all biofuels are not created equal. They exhibit considerable spatial and temporal heterogeneity in production. The impact of biofuels will also be heterogeneous, creating winners and losers. The findings of the paper suggest the importance of the role biomass plays in rural areas of developing countries. Furthermore, the use of biomass for producing fuel for cars can affect access to energy and fodder and not just access to food.CC BY 3.0 IGOABSENCE OF OXYGENACCESS TO ENERGYAGRICULTURAL COMMODITIESAGRICULTURAL RESIDUESAGRICULTURAL WASTESAIR POLLUTANTSALFALFAALTERNATIVE ENERGYALTERNATIVE FUELANAEROBIC DIGESTIONANHYDROUS ETHANOLANIMAL DUNGANIMAL POWERANIMAL WASTEANIMAL WASTESAPPROACHATMOSPHERIC PRESSUREAVAILABILITYBARRELS OF OILBIOGASBIOMASSBIOMASS ENERGYBIOMASS ENERGY USEBIOMASS FEEDSTOCKBIOMASS GASIFICATIONBIOMASS PRODUCTIONBOILERSCARBON DIOXIDECARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONSCARBON EMISSIONSCARBON INTENSITYCARBON MONOXIDECARBON NEUTRALCARBON OFFSETCARBON SEQUESTRATIONCELLULOSECELLULOSIC BIOMASSCELLULOSIC CONVERSIONCELLULOSIC ETHANOLCELLULOSIC FEEDSTOCKCHEMICAL CONVERSIONCHEMICAL INDUSTRIESCHEMICAL PROCESSESCHEMICAL PROPERTIESCLEANER ENERGYCLIMATE CHANGECOALCOGENERATIONCOMBUSTIONCOMBUSTION CHARACTERISTICSCOMBUSTION OF BIOMASSCOMBUSTION OF LIGNINCONSUMPTION OF PETROLEUMCONVERSION EFFICIENCYCONVERSION FACILITYCONVERSION OF BIOMASSCONVERSION OF BIOMASS TO FUELSCONVERSION OF CELLULOSE TO ETHANOLCONVERSION OF WOODCONVERSION OF WOOD TO ETHANOLCONVERSION PROCESSCOOK STOVESCORN ETHANOLCORN GLUTENCORN GLUTEN MEALCORN GRAINCORN OILCORN PRICESCORN STOVERCRUDE OILCRUDE OIL PRICECRUDE OIL USEDEMAND FOR GASOLINEDIESELDIESEL ENGINEDIESEL ENGINESDIESEL GENERATORSDIESEL USEDISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRICITYELECTRIC GRIDELECTRIC VEHICLESELECTRICITYELECTRICITY FROM BIOMASSELECTRICITY GENERATIONELECTRICITY PRODUCTIONELECTRICITY SUPPLYEMISSIONEMISSIONSENERGY CONSERVATIONENERGY CONSUMPTIONENERGY CONTENT OF ETHANOLENERGY CROP PRODUCTIONENERGY CROPSENERGY INPUTENERGY NEEDSENERGY PLANTATIONSENERGY PRICESENERGY PRODUCTIONENERGY REQUIREMENTSENERGY SOURCEENERGY SOURCESENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTSENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCEENZYMATIC HYDROLYSISETHANOLETHANOL FROM CORNETHANOL FUELETHANOL PLANTETHANOL PRICESETHANOL PRODUCTIONETHANOL PRODUCTION FROM CORNFEEDSTOCKFOSSILFOSSIL ENERGYFOSSIL FUELFOSSIL FUEL USEFOSSIL FUELSFUELFUEL CELLFUEL CELL VEHICLESFUEL CELLSFUEL CONSUMPTIONFUEL DEMANDFUEL OILFUEL PRODUCTIONFUEL USEGAS TURBINESGASIFICATION OF BIOMASSGASIFICATION PROCESSESGASOLINEGASOLINE CONSUMPTIONGASOLINE DEMANDGASOLINE PRICEGASOLINE USEGENERATIONGENERATION OF ELECTRICITYGLOBAL ENERGY SUPPLYGREENHOUSE GASGRID ELECTRICITYHEATHEMICELLULOSEHIGH LIPID CONTENTHYDROGENHYDROGEN SULFIDEHYDROPOWERIMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCYIMPURITIESINTERNAL COMBUSTIONKEROSENEKILOWATT HOURLIGNINLIQUID FUELSLIQUID HYDROCARBONSMANUREMETHANEMODERN FUELSNATURAL GASNATURAL GAS FEEDSTOCKNATURAL GAS PRICESNITROGENNONRENEWABLE ENERGYNUCLEAR ENERGYOILOIL EQUIVALENTOIL IMPORTSOIL PRICESOIL SUPPLYOIL USEOILSOPEN BURNINGOPEN-FIELD BURNINGORGANIC CARBONORGANIC MATERIALOXYGENPARTICULATEPARTICULATE MATTERPARTICULATESPETROLEUMPETROLEUM CONSUMPTIONPETROLEUM DIESELPETROLEUM GASPHOSPHORUSPHOTOSYNTHESISPOLLUTANTSPOLLUTIONPOTASSIUMPOWER PLANTPOWER PLANTSPRICE OF OILPRIMARY ENERGYPRIMARY ENERGY SUPPLYPRIMARY SOURCE OF ENERGYPROCESS HEATPRODUCTION OF ELECTRICITYPRODUCTION OF ETHANOLPRODUCTION OF FERTILIZERSPYROLYSISQUANTITY OF FUELRAW BIOMASSRAW MATERIALRENEWABLE ENERGYRENEWABLE ENERGY USERENEWABLE SOURCERENEWABLE SOURCESRURAL ELECTRIFICATIONRURAL ENERGYSOLAR ENERGYSOURCE OF ETHANOLSPACE HEATINGSUGARCANESUGARCANE ETHANOLSUGARCANE MOLASSESSUPPLY CURVESUPPLY CURVE FOR BIOMASSSUPPLY OF BIOMASSSURPLUS BAGASSESYNTHESIS GASTHERMAL UNITTIDAL ENERGYTRADITIONAL BIOMASSTRANSPORTATION FUELUTILIZATION OF BIOMASSVEHICLESWINDWOOD CHIPSWorld Bank10.1596/1813-9450-4341