The market and food security implications of the development of biofuel production
Driven by national objectives for greater energy security, the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and rural development policy, incentives supporting biofuel production have increased in recent years with a greater number of countries adopting a variety of stimulative policies. In combination with higher petroleum prices, support policies, such as consumption mandates, tax incentives, production subsidies and/or border tariffs, have induced a rapid growth in biofuel production and have affected the global distribution of production. Within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) region, the rush of new production capacity for ethanol and biodiesel, soon to come on line, means that both production and consumption will continue to increase in the next few years. In addition, many developing countries are in various stages of developing domestic biofuel production capacity in response to rising global demand.