G20 Summit: PM Modi announces launch of Global Biofuel Alliance

Consensus on the Leaders' Declaration comes on the first day of the G20 Summit itself.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of Global Biofuel Alliance and urged G20 nations to join the initiative with a plea to take ethanol blending with petrol globally to 20 percent.

In the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration, the G20 nations said that they recognise the importance of sustainable biofuels in their zero and low- emission development strategies, and note the setting up of a Global Biofuels Alliance.

Global Biofuel Alliance was first announced by Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri in February at the India Energy Week.

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Under India’s G20 presidency, Global Biofuel Alliance has been one of the priorities. The Indian government had said that proposed biofuel alliance would facilitate cooperation and intensify the use of sustainable biofuels, including in the transportation sector.

The Union government had said in February during India Energy Week 2023 that the biofuel alliance would place emphasis on strengthening markets, facilitating global biofuels trade, developing concrete policy lesson-sharing and providing technical support for national biofuel programmes worldwide.

Global Biofuel Alliance has evinced interest from several G20 nations. However, a final decision has not been taken yet.

Biofuel or bio-energy is a form of energy which is generated from organic and agricultural materials, known as biomass. Biofuels help in reducing emissions and have therefore gained world-wide popularity, which is accelerating to meet net zero carbon emission targets.