A wide range of biomass products such as sugar cane, rapeseed, corn, straw, wood, animal and agriculture residues and waste can be transformed into fuels for transport. Generally, a distinction is made between first-generation biofuels (mainly produced from crops such as sugar beet and rapeseed) and second-generation biofuels (from ligno-cellulosic or 'woody' sources and via new technologies to convert biomass to liquid (BTL)). The two main first-generation biofuels are bio-ethanol and bio-diesel. Brazil and the US are the main producers of bio-ethanol, while the EU has the largest production of bio-diesel, with Germany, France, Sweden and Spain in the lead.

The advantage of biofuels is that they generally emit fewer greenhouse gases than traditional fuels from oil and gas and the EU has set itself the target of slashing its greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020.

Yet, while total EU-27 emissions fell 7.9% from 1990–2005, transport emissions rose 27% over the same period due to large increases in traffic, so that they now represent roughly one third of the EU’s total CO2 emissions.

What’s more, a massive 98% of transport fuel consumed in the EU is accounted for by fossil sources, leaving the sector highly exposed to the vagaries of global oil markets. In addition, biofuels can be produced in Europe, unlike oil and gas, which have to be imported.

More info at EurActiv.com.