By Krishnan Nayar
NEW DELHI, 9th February, 2023 (WAM) — An International Biofuel Alliance “to help create and develop a favourable ecosystem for promoting development and deployment of biofuels” was launched yesterday in south Indian city of Bengaluru.
The launch coincided with the conclusion of a three-day India Energy Week (IEW) in Bengaluru attended by 35 ministers dealing with energy or climate change from all continents.
The event attracted, in the final count, heads of several international organisations, 500 speakers, 30,000 energy professionals, 8,000 delegates and 700 exhibitors from more than 50 countries.
India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, said, “During the India Energy Week 2023, India’s journey across the energy spectrum was showcased through an immersive digital exhibition and ministerial dialogues taking whole-of-government approach. This event has provided an inflexion point in the Indian energy sector’s evolution.”
The new International Biofuel Alliance will initially include, in addition to India, Brazil, the United States of America, the European Union, the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Biofuture Platform, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), according to a press release from India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. In the coming months, it will be expanded globally.
Of these, the Biofuture Platform is a 22-country effort to promote an advanced low-carbon bio-economy that is sustainable, innovative and scalable while SIAM is geared to promote sustainable development of the automobile industry in India. ISMA is the interface between the government and the sugar industry in India.
The International Biofuel Alliance was launched as a “clean mobility alternative under India’s Group of Twenty (G20) presidency,” the press release said.
Coinciding with the IEW was the Ninth Asian Ministerial Energy Roundtable in collaboration with International Energy Forum (IEF) with the objective of “mapping stable and secure energy pathways for achieving energy security, energy justice, growth and innovation,” Puri said.
The IEF is the world's largest international organization of energy ministers from 72 countries and includes both producing and consuming nations.