Bioenergy for Greener Globe and Better Human Living

Bioenergy and human life are strongly integrated on the planet earth which has a unique characteristic of having life. Regardless of life forms, bioenergy along with air and water are absolute requirements for maintenance and replication of life. Bioenergy is derived from biomass which is produced through agriculture and forestry that trap and transform solar energy into chemical energy in the form of biomass which is, subsequently, processed and utilized. Many countries, including India, are exploring alternate and renewal energy sources like biomass, wind, solar, hydro, tidal and geothermal. Policy on biofuel should protect competition between food and fuel and identify a complementary approach that benefits both the sectors. Bioenergy is the most widely used form of renewable energy in every country of the world since civilization. In 2010, the global biofuel production was about 105 billion litres and it provided 2.7% of the world's fuel for road transport, through ethanol (86 billion litres) and biodiesel (19 billion litres). As of 2011, mandates for blending biofuel with fossil fuels exist in 31 countries. The biofuels have potential to meet more than 25% of world demand for transportation fuel by 2050. Production and utilization of bioenergy provides additional activities to millions of rural house-holds and thereby augment their income. The R&D needs are to evaluate different biofuel feedstocks for energy efficiency and mitigation of green house gases (GHG) and develop genebanks & molecular breeding programmes for biofuel crops. Production and promotion of such renewable energy measures for various social and economic activities would lead towards a greener globe and provide better living environment for humans and other life forms on the planet earth.