Current Biofuels Policy

Motivated by the factors described above, numerous countries have set goals for the replacement of gasoline by bioethanol, and diesel by biodiesel. A survey is provided showing the goals by world region (North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania and Latin America). It is perceived as the key instruments in selected countries to rule biofuel development include: policy instruments, binding targets/mandates, voluntary targets, direct incentives, grants, feed-in tariffs, compulsory grid connections, sustainability criteria and tariffs. Support policies have strongly contributed in past decades to the growth of bioenergy for electricity, heat and transport fuels. However, several reports also point out the costs and risks associated with support policies for biofuels. The chapter discusses the state of the art and the future perspectives of biofuels in the European Union, including the main barriers for the market penetration and international trade of bioenergy.