Today in Biofuels Opinion: “There’s uncertainty about whether people should wait to see if they should buy them out of bankruptcy or wait until prices come down even further”

Todd Alexander, partner with biofuels law firm Chadbourne & Parke: “The food-versus-fuel debate has tempered the interest of many of the likely prospects who aren’t sure if they want to get involved in an area like that when there are other areas to invest in alternative energy. There’s also uncertainty as to where the floor is. There’s uncertainty about whether people should wait to see if they should buy them out of bankruptcy or wait until prices come down even further.”

The FAO State of Food and Agriculture 2008: There is also an urgent need to review current policies supporting, subsidising and mandating biofuel production and use. A large share of the recent growth in biofuels has been driven by such policies, especially in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Many of the assumptions underlying these policies regarding bene?cial impacts on climate change and energy security are now being questioned, and unintended consequences of rising food prices for poor consumers are being recognized. There seems to be a case for directing expenditures on biofuels more towards research and development, especially on second-generation technologies, which hold more promise in terms of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions with less pressure on the natural resource base.

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