<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Nowadays world faces crisis caused by growing energy demand. Threat of climate change caused by the increased emission of CO2 from burning of fossil fuels exerts pressure on wider use of renewable energy resources. It is believed that one of important resources of renewable energy are biofuels. In the paper we present that in the most cases it is not true. Wide use of biofuel, especially in European Union, poses threat to sustainable development of today’s world. It is going to be presented that the production of biofuels from agricultural crops is, in many cases, unsustainable due to the fact that it reduces the access to food by devoting cultivatable land to crops designated for the production of biofuels. What is more, it has also negative influence on the environment, namely it reduces biodiversity, pollute water and, what is curious, not in all cases the use of biofuels leads to the reduction of CO2 emission.</abstract>

Nowadays world faces crisis caused by growing energy demand. Threat of climate change caused by the increased emission of CO2 from burning of fossil fuels exerts pressure on wider use of renewable energy resources. It is believed that one of important resources of renewable energy are biofuels. In the paper we present that in the most cases it is not true. Wide use of biofuel, especially in European Union, poses threat to sustainable development of today’s world. It is going to be presented that the production of biofuels from agricultural crops is, in many cases, unsustainable due to the fact that it reduces the access to food by devoting cultivatable land to crops designated for the production of biofuels. What is more, it has also negative influence on the environment, namely it reduces biodiversity, pollute water and, what is curious, not in all cases the use of biofuels leads to the reduction of CO2 emission.

EFFECT OF BIOFUELS ON ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

School of Environmental and Recourse Science, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou 311300, China

Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Lublin University of Technology, ul. Nadbystrzycka 40 B, 20-618 Lublin, Poland

Ecological Chemistry and Engineering S

{"article-title":"EFFECT OF BIOFUELS ON ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT"}

Nowadays world faces crisis caused by growing energy demand. Threat of climate change caused by the increased emission of CO2 from burning of fossil fuels...

EFFECT OF BIOFUELS ON ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Published Online: Jan 22, 2014

Page range: 799 - 804

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/eces-2013-0055

This content is open access.