The G8 Summit and the OECD’s annual International Transport Forum has kicked off today in Leipzig, Germany to discuss the future of transportation on a global scale. During the event, the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) is calling on them to immediately adopt the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Technology Roadmap: Biofuels for Transport. This roadmap suggests that biofuels could account for more than one quarter of the world’s transport fuels by 2050.

Bliss Baker, spokesperson for the GRFA, said, “Meetings like these are crucial opportunities to address energy security issues that must not be wasted. In April the IEA provided a comprehensive roadmap for reducing our crude oil reliance which included the widespread use of biofuels and we must take advantage of this opportunity.”

GRFA noted that record gas prices have occurred worldwide during the month of May. Baker stresses that a diversified fuel supply system will “alleviate our crippling reliance on crude oil.” This is the same strategy promoted by the IEA report. To support the organization’s position on biofuels, Baker highlighted two U.S. university economists who found that the presence of ethanol in the U.S. fuel supply kept gasoline prices 89 cents lower per gallon than if ethanol were not blended in the fuel. He also conveyed that even OPEC recognized in a recent forecast that “energy efficiency policies along with the use of biofuels will put downward pressure on oil consumption worldwide.”

Some of the findings of the report included:

• Biofuels providing 27% of global transport fuel by 2050
• Avoiding 2.1 gigatonnes of CO2 emissions by displacing gasoline
• Achieving these targets without compromising global food security

“The GRFA has long advocated that biofuels are the best way for the world to reduce its reliance on crude oil. In light of the IEA’s findings it is imperative that the G8 and OECD recognize the vital role biofuels can play in solving some of the world’s energy security problems,” Baker concluded.