G20 Summit 2023: India led Global Biofuel Alliance sets the global agenda for clean fuels

New Delhi: Global energy sector has witnessed a historic moment on the first day of G20 Summit with announcement of the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.

GBA is an India-led Initiative to develop an alliance of Governments, International organizations and Industry to facilitate adoption of biofuels. Bringing together the biggest consumers and producers of biofuels to drive biofuels development and deployment, the initiative aims to position biofuels as a key to energy transition and contribute to jobs and economic growth.

Announcement of the GBA showcases the action-oriented nature of India’s positive agenda as G20 President and representing the “Voice of the Global South’’.

GBA will support worldwide development and deployment of sustainable biofuels by offering capacity-building exercises across the value chain, technical support for national programs and promoting policy lessons-sharing. It will facilitate mobilizing a virtual marketplace to assist industries, countries, ecosystem players and key stakeholders in mapping demand and supply, as well as connecting technology providers to end users. It will also facilitate development, adoption and implementation of internationally recognized standards, codes, sustainability principles and regulations to incentivize biofuels adoption and trade.

The initiative will be beneficial for India at multiple fronts. GBA as a tangible outcome of the G20 presidency, will help strengthen India’s position globally. Moreover, the alliance will focus on collaboration and will provide additional opportunities to Indian industries in the form of exporting technology and exporting equipment. It will help accelerate India’s existing biofuels programs such as PM-JIVANYojna, SATAT, and GOBARdhan scheme, thereby contributing to increased farmers’ income, creating jobs and overall development of the Indian ecosystem.

The global ethanol market was valued at USD 99.06 billion in 2022 and is predicted to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% by 2032 and surpass USD 162.12 billion by 2032. As per IEA, there will be 3.5-5x biofuels growth potential by 2050 due to Net Zero targets, creating a huge opportunity for India.

Commenting on the launch, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi tweeted: “The launch of the Global Biofuels Alliance marks a watershed moment in our quest towards sustainability and clean energy. I thank the member nations who have joined this Alliance.”

Earlier speaking at the G20 Summit session on ‘One Earth’, PM Modi also proposed launching the ‘G20 Satellite Mission for Environment and Climate Observation’ and urged leaders to commence work on the ‘Green Credit Initiative’.

19 countries and 12 international organizations have already agreed to join the GBA. These include G20 countries Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India, Italy, South Africa, and USA. The G20 invitee countries who have supported GBA include Bangladesh, Singapore, Mauritius, and UAE. Non G20 countries supporting GBA are Iceland, Kenya, Guyana, Paraguay, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, and Uganda have agreed to be initiating members.

International organizations such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank, World Economic Forum, World LPG Organization, UN Energy for All, UNIDO, Biofutures Platform, International Civil Aviation Organization, International Energy Agency, International Energy Forum, International Renewable Energy Agency, World Biogas Association have also joined the GBA.

GBA Members constitute major producers and consumers of biofuels. USA (52%), Brazil (30%) and India (3%), contribute about 85% share in production and about 81% in consumption of ethanol.