UN report delves into thriving global use of biofuels

A new report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reveals that biofuels now make up 1% of global energy use.

The State of the Biofuels Market: Regulatory, Trade and Development Perspectives is a global overview of the progression of biofuels. It provides an update to the agency’s first report released in 2006.

The report focuses on industry activity over the last 8 years, and looks at production levels in the main biofuels regions, commerce trends, and ongoing policy considerations.   

‘While in 2006 the biofuel market was only starting to become truly international, by 2013 bioethanol and biodiesel have already become established commodities traded daily in all continents,’ the report states.  

UNCTAD argues the need for international strategies to avoid a technological gap between first-generation methods that take up considerable land and second-generation biofuels which require heavy investment.

‘Biofuels will continue to provide different types of opportunities to different countries,’ the report concludes.